A car bomb attack in a market in<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/car-bomb-attack-in-afghanistan-at-least-5-killed-19366"> Afghanistan&#39;s southern province of Helmand</a> killed at least 13 people late on Sunday evening.

The attack was targeted at a convoy of Afghan soldiers in the market area in Nawa district of Helmand. The suicide attack led the death of security personnel and civilians.

AFP reported at least fifteen bodies were brought to the hospital with over thirty injured in admitted in various hospitals. &nbsp;

The attack comes just days <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/gunmen-enter-mosque-in-kabul-19503">after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in Kabul</a>, just days after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/reversing-course-trump-commits-to-open-ended-afghan-war-19303">US President Donald Trump promised</a> to step up military intervention in &nbsp;Afghanistan.

&quot;A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-filled car as the Afghan National Army convoy passed a small market in Nawa District of Helmand,&quot; Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack even though news agency AFP reported the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message sent to journalists.

AFP reported at least fifteen bodies were brought to the hospital with over thirty injured in admitted in various hospitals. ?

A car bomb attack in a market in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand killed at least 13 people late on Sunday evening. The attack was targeted at a convoy of Afghan soldiers in the market area in Nawa district of Helmand. The suicide attack led the death of security personnel and civilians. AFP reported at least fifteen bodies were brought to the hospital with over thirty injured in admitted in various hospitals. The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in Kabul, just days after US President Donald Trump promised to step up military intervention in Afghanistan. "A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-filled car as the Afghan National Army convoy passed a small market in Nawa District of Helmand," Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack even though news agency AFP reported the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message sent to journalists.

At least 13 killed, several injured in suicide attack in Afghanistan's Helmand province

US President Donald Trump has&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41008116" rel="noopener" target="_blank">drawn battle lines</a>&nbsp;in South Asia that are likely to have a ripple effect across Eurasia: a stepped-up war against the Taliban in Afghanistan; a tougher approach toward Pakistan&rsquo;s selective support of militancy; and closer cooperation with India &mdash; moves that are likely to push Islamabad closer to China and Russia.

There is little doubt that Trump had few good choices some 16 years into an Afghanistan War in which the Taliban and other militant groups are holding their ground, if not making advances, buffeted by Pakistani policies that are rooted in the fabric of the country&rsquo;s military and society. Similarly, there is little doubt that Pakistan&rsquo;s convoluted relationship to militancy poses serious challenges to US foreign policy in South Asia, as well as a global effort to contain political violence.

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Nonetheless, President Trump could find that his newly announced South Asia policy will fail to achieve his goal of an &ldquo;honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices&rdquo; made by the United States. The silver lining is that Pakistan may temporarily engineer a stay of execution but ultimately will find itself in a cul-de-sac from which there is no escape.

Despite refusing to disclose details of his strategy in Afghanistan, the US president made clear in a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/08/21/545038935/watch-live-trump-s-address-on-afghanistan-next-steps-for-u-s-engagement" rel="noopener" target="_blank">speech on August 21 outlining his South Asia policy</a>&nbsp;that he hopes an increased US military presence will force the Taliban to come to the negotiating table. Yet achieving that would require the kind of military and political engagement in Afghanistan that Trump seems unwilling to embrace.

US media reported that Trump envisioned only a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-expected-to-announce-small-troop-increase-in-afghanistan-in-prime-time-address/2017/08/21/eb3a513e-868a-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?utm_term=.5b49c9a86f55" rel="noopener" target="_blank">modest increase of several thousand troops</a>&nbsp;in a country wracked&nbsp;by corruption and whose military is largely incapable of standing its ground on its own.&nbsp;Political and security analysts&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/troop-surge-wont-save-afghanistan_us_59492e26e4b0f7875b83e5f8" rel="noopener" target="_blank">suggest&nbsp;</a>that it would take a far greater commitment to militarily turn the tables on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Moreover, President Trump&rsquo;s exclusive focus on defeating insurgents militarily or bombing them into submission ignores the broader economic, social and political problems that fuel militancy in Afghanistan and drive Pakistan&rsquo;s support for the Taliban and a selection of other groups. &ldquo;We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists,&rdquo; Trump said.

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<h5>Announcing a tougher approach toward Pakistan, the president insisted that the South Asian nation&rsquo;s partnership with the US would not survive if it continued to harbor and support groups that target the United States.</h5>
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Announcing a tougher approach toward Pakistan, the president insisted that the South Asian nation&rsquo;s partnership with the US would not survive if it continued to harbor and support groups that target the United States. Adding fuel to the fire, the president emphasised Washington&rsquo;s strategic partnership with India, calling on it to support the administration&rsquo;s policy with increased Indian economic assistance to Afghanistan. In doing so, Trump challenged a pillar of Pakistani policy toward Afghanistan: limiting Indian influence in the country at whatever cost.

<iframe frameborder="0" height="417" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.gettyimages.com/embed/472846416?et=pY4s7E5vRhBt7ZbGNg6ApA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=xRhiWN37SB1iTMNo7vrZi22uHSIrEOURxL_UXpCkJWU=" width="594"></iframe>

<a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/472846416" target="_blank">Embed from Getty Images</a>

CHINESE AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY IN SOUTH ASIA

Trump&rsquo;s approach to South Asia puts to the test two assumptions: that Pakistan will want to preserve its partnership with the US at whatever cost and that it has few alternatives. The president could well find that at least in the short term those assumptions are incorrect.

Pakistan&rsquo;s relationship to militancy is engrained in a deeply-rooted, zero-sum-game approach toward India within the military, as well as empathy for Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism that is woven into the fabric of the security forces, parts of the government bureaucracy and significant segments of society.

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Islamabad&rsquo;s use of militant groups to counter India in Afghanistan and Kashmir, as well as an antidote to nationalist insurgents in the restive province of Baluchistan, is tacitly endorsed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/pakistani-news-china-pakistan-india-south-asian-world-news-97581/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">China&rsquo;s repeated vetoing</a>&nbsp;of the designation of Masood Azhar, an anti-Indian militant, former mujahideen fighter in the 1980s, and Islamic scholar who graduated from a Deobandi madrassa &mdash; Darul Uloom Islamia Binori Town in Karachi &mdash; that is the alma mater of numerous Pakistani militants.

With an investment of more than $60 billion in Pakistani infrastructure and energy that would turn the country into a key node &mdash; if not the crown jewel of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/one-belt-one-road-china-india-trade-news-61521/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">One Belt, One Road initiative</a>&nbsp;&mdash; China is a logical escape for a government and military that lacks the political will to confront its own demons. Similarly, Russia, long eager to gain access to warm water ports and expand its influence in Central and South Asia, is certain to see opportunity in further estrangement between Pakistan and the US.

Closer ties to China and Russia may offer Pakistan a temporary escape from dealing with structural problems. Ultimately, however, Islamabad&rsquo;s relationship to militancy is likely to also complicate its relations with Beijing and Moscow amid escalating violence in Baluchistan and no end in sight to the insurgency in Afghanistan. A series of devastating attacks in Baluchistan over the past year that has targeted Pakistani cadets, decimated the legal profession in the capital Quetta, and targeted Chinese nationals as well kidnappings and drive-by shootings&nbsp;pose a serious obstacle to China&rsquo;s strategic ambition&nbsp;to extend its maritime power across the Indian Ocean and turn the sleepy Baloch fishing port of Gwadar into a gateway to its troubled northwestern province of Xinjiang.

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Pakistan has, moreover, in the past year&nbsp;turned a&nbsp;<a href="https://mideastsoccer.blogspot.sg/search/label/Pakistan?updated-max=2017-06-05T14:37:00%2B08:00&amp;max-results=20&amp;start=10&amp;by-date=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blind eye to Saudi funding</a>&nbsp;of anti-Shia, anti-Iranian militants&nbsp;in Baluchistan, including Pakistani cleric Maulana Ali Muhammad Abu Turab, who remains a member of the Council of Islamic Ideology &mdash; a government advisory body tasked with ensuring that legislation does not contradict Islamic law &mdash; despite having been designated a global terrorist by the US Treasury.

China has too much at stake for Pakistan&rsquo;s selective support of militancy to ultimately get in the way of achieving its geopolitical goals vested in its One Belt, One Road initiative. As a result, Pakistan&rsquo;s refusal to confront its demons could, in the final analysis, leave it out in the cold: its relationship with the US severely damaged; India strengthened by closer cooperation with Trump administration; and China and Russia demanding that it do what Washington wanted in the first place.

Pakistan is likely to have fewer options and no escape routes once Beijing and Moscow come to the conclusion President Trump has already articulated.

&nbsp;

The views expressed in this article are the author&rsquo;s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer&rsquo;s editorial policy.

Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/secdef/">Jim Mattis</a>

This <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/donald-trump-afghanistan-policy-speech-pakistan-india-policy-news-headlines-97120/">article</a> was originally published on&nbsp;<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.fairobserver.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1503723352966000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHmFLLQ4MoeLQPQr96cx59taj9n4w" disabled="disabled" href="http://www.fairobserver.com/" target="_blank">Fair Observer</a>.&rdquo;

Trump challenged a pillar of Pakistani policy toward Afghanistan: limiting Indian influence in the country at whatever cost.

US President Donald Trump has drawn battle lines in South Asia that are likely to have a ripple effect across Eurasia: a stepped-up war against the Taliban in Afghanistan; a tougher approach toward Pakistan’s selective support of militancy; and closer cooperation with India — moves that are likely to push Islamabad closer to China and Russia. There is little doubt that Trump had few good choices some 16 years into an Afghanistan War in which the Taliban and other militant groups are holding their ground, if not making advances, buffeted by Pakistani policies that are rooted in the fabric of the country’s military and society. Similarly, there is little doubt that Pakistan’s convoluted relationship to militancy poses serious challenges to US foreign policy in South Asia, as well as a global effort to contain political violence. Pakistan’s convoluted relationship to militancy poses serious challenges to US foreign policy in South Asia, as well as a global effort to contain political violence. × Nonetheless, President Trump could find that his newly announced South Asia policy will fail to achieve his goal of an “honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices” made by the United States. The silver lining is that Pakistan may temporarily engineer a stay of execution but ultimately will find itself in a cul-de-sac from which there is no escape. Despite refusing to disclose details of his strategy in Afghanistan, the US president made clear in a speech on August 21 outlining his South Asia policy that he hopes an increased US military presence will force the Taliban to come to the negotiating table. Yet achieving that would require the kind of military and political engagement in Afghanistan that Trump seems unwilling to embrace. US media reported that Trump envisioned only a modest increase of several thousand troops in a country wracked by corruption and whose military is largely incapable of standing its ground on its own. Political and security analysts suggest that it would take a far greater commitment to militarily turn the tables on the Taliban in Afghanistan. Moreover, President Trump’s exclusive focus on defeating insurgents militarily or bombing them into submission ignores the broader economic, social and political problems that fuel militancy in Afghanistan and drive Pakistan’s support for the Taliban and a selection of other groups. “We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists,” Trump said. Announcing a tougher approach toward Pakistan, the president insisted that the South Asian nation’s partnership with the US would not survive if it continued to harbor and support groups that target the United States. × Announcing a tougher approach toward Pakistan, the president insisted that the South Asian nation’s partnership with the US would not survive if it continued to harbor and support groups that target the United States. Adding fuel to the fire, the president emphasised Washington’s strategic partnership with India, calling on it to support the administration’s policy with increased Indian economic assistance to Afghanistan. In doing so, Trump challenged a pillar of Pakistani policy toward Afghanistan: limiting Indian influence in the country at whatever cost. Embed from Getty Images CHINESE AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY IN SOUTH ASIA Trump’s approach to South Asia puts to the test two assumptions: that Pakistan will want to preserve its partnership with the US at whatever cost and that it has few alternatives. The president could well find that at least in the short term those assumptions are incorrect. Pakistan’s relationship to militancy is engrained in a deeply-rooted, zero-sum-game approach toward India within the military, as well as empathy for Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism that is woven into the fabric of the security forces, parts of the government bureaucracy and significant segments of society. Pakistan’s relationship to militancy is engrained in a deeply-rooted, zero-sum-game approach toward India within the military, as well as empathy for Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism. × Islamabad’s use of militant groups to counter India in Afghanistan and Kashmir, as well as an antidote to nationalist insurgents in the restive province of Baluchistan, is tacitly endorsed by China’s repeated vetoing of the designation of Masood Azhar, an anti-Indian militant, former mujahideen fighter in the 1980s, and Islamic scholar who graduated from a Deobandi madrassa — Darul Uloom Islamia Binori Town in Karachi — that is the alma mater of numerous Pakistani militants. With an investment of more than $60 billion in Pakistani infrastructure and energy that would turn the country into a key node — if not the crown jewel of its One Belt, One Road initiative — China is a logical escape for a government and military that lacks the political will to confront its own demons. Similarly, Russia, long eager to gain access to warm water ports and expand its influence in Central and South Asia, is certain to see opportunity in further estrangement between Pakistan and the US. Closer ties to China and Russia may offer Pakistan a temporary escape from dealing with structural problems. Ultimately, however, Islamabad’s relationship to militancy is likely to also complicate its relations with Beijing and Moscow amid escalating violence in Baluchistan and no end in sight to the insurgency in Afghanistan. A series of devastating attacks in Baluchistan over the past year that has targeted Pakistani cadets, decimated the legal profession in the capital Quetta, and targeted Chinese nationals as well kidnappings and drive-by shootings pose a serious obstacle to China’s strategic ambition to extend its maritime power across the Indian Ocean and turn the sleepy Baloch fishing port of Gwadar into a gateway to its troubled northwestern province of Xinjiang. China has too much at stake for Pakistan’s selective support of militancy to ultimately get in the way of achieving its geopolitical goals vested in its One Belt, One Road initiative. × Pakistan has, moreover, in the past year turned a blind eye to Saudi funding of anti-Shia, anti-Iranian militants in Baluchistan, including Pakistani cleric Maulana Ali Muhammad Abu Turab, who remains a member of the Council of Islamic Ideology — a government advisory body tasked with ensuring that legislation does not contradict Islamic law — despite having been designated a global terrorist by the US Treasury. China has too much at stake for Pakistan’s selective support of militancy to ultimately get in the way of achieving its geopolitical goals vested in its One Belt, One Road initiative. As a result, Pakistan’s refusal to confront its demons could, in the final analysis, leave it out in the cold: its relationship with the US severely damaged; India strengthened by closer cooperation with Trump administration; and China and Russia demanding that it do what Washington wanted in the first place. Pakistan is likely to have fewer options and no escape routes once Beijing and Moscow come to the conclusion President Trump has already articulated. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy. Photo Credit: Jim Mattis This article was originally published on Fair Observer.”

Will Trump's closeness with India push Pakistan towards China and Russia?

China will use all necessary means to defend the interests of the country and its companies against a US&nbsp;trade investigation, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The ministry on Monday expressed &quot;strong dissatisfaction&quot; with the US&nbsp;launch of the probe into China&#39;s alleged theft of US&nbsp;intellectual property, calling it &quot;irresponsible&quot;.

The probe is the Trump administration&#39;s first direct measure against Chinese trade practices, which the White House and US&nbsp;business groups say are bruising American industry.

&quot;We will take all the necessary measures to resolutely defend the interests of China and Chinese firms&quot; in the face of the unilateral US&nbsp;actions, commerce ministry official Gao Feng told reporters at a regular news conference.

Gao also said that China&#39;s support for overseas investment by Chinese firms will not change, but that oversight of deals will increase and projects related to China&#39;s Belt and Road initiative will be given priority.

China&#39;s cabinet released guidelines to manage overseas investments, with certain sectors encouraged and others restricted or banned outright.

Mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies in countries linked to the Belt and Road initiative have been growing at a rapid rate, even as the government takes aim at China&#39;s acquisitive conglomerates to restrict capital outflows.

&quot;We will further improve the overseas investment reporting management system,&quot; said Gao, adding China would push forward legislation to govern foreign investment.

The probe is the Trump administration's first direct measure against Chinese trade practices, which the White House and U.S. business groups say are bruising American industry

China will use all necessary means to defend the interests of the country and its companies against a US trade investigation, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The ministry on Monday expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the US launch of the probe into China's alleged theft of US intellectual property, calling it "irresponsible". The probe is the Trump administration's first direct measure against Chinese trade practices, which the White House and US business groups say are bruising American industry. "We will take all the necessary measures to resolutely defend the interests of China and Chinese firms" in the face of the unilateral US actions, commerce ministry official Gao Feng told reporters at a regular news conference. Gao also said that China's support for overseas investment by Chinese firms will not change, but that oversight of deals will increase and projects related to China's Belt and Road initiative will be given priority. China's cabinet released guidelines to manage overseas investments, with certain sectors encouraged and others restricted or banned outright. Mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies in countries linked to the Belt and Road initiative have been growing at a rapid rate, even as the government takes aim at China's acquisitive conglomerates to restrict capital outflows. "We will further improve the overseas investment reporting management system," said Gao, adding China would push forward legislation to govern foreign investment.

Beijing dissatisfied over US probe into China's alleged theft of intellectual property

The top US&nbsp;military commander in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;said on Thursday President Donald Trump&#39;s new strategy is a sign of a long-term commitment to what is already America&#39;s longest war and called on Taliban insurgents to agree to peace talks.

&quot;The Taliban cannot win on the battlefield, it&#39;s time for them to join the peace process,&quot;&nbsp;GeneralJohn Nicholson told reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul. &quot;We will not fail in&nbsp;Afghanistan, our national security depends on that as well.&quot;

Critics, including Trump himself during the 2016 campaign for the US&nbsp;presidency, have argued that&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;is no closer to peace despite billions of dollars spent on aid and nearly 16 years of the US&nbsp;and allied military operations.

In February, Nicholson told the US Congress he needed &quot;a few thousand&quot; more troops in Afghanistan, mostly to help advise Afghan security forces that are battling Taliban, Islamic State and other Islamist insurgents.

Trump has now approved an extended American presence in&nbsp;Afghanistan, although neither he nor his military leaders have provided any specifics about troop numbers or timelines.

The current US force for the predominantly advise-and-assist mission in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;stands at around 8,400, well down from around 100,000 during the &quot;surge&quot; decided on by Trump&#39;s predecessor, Barack Obama.

Several thousand more troops are often in the country on &quot;temporary&quot; or other uncounted missions.

Nicholson said new advisers from the United States and NATO coalition allies would increase the training missions, including at specialized military schools and expanding the Afghan air force and special forces.

He also praised Trump&#39;s decision not to impose &quot;arbitrary&quot; deadlines on the American mission in Afghanistan.

&quot;This policy announcement ... is proof of our continued commitment,&quot; he said.

The Taliban government was overthrown by the US, backed Afghan forces in late 2001 but US&nbsp;forces have been bogged down there ever since. About 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

US&nbsp;military and intelligence officials are concerned that a new Taliban victory would allow al Qaeda and Islamic State&rsquo;s regional affiliate to establish bases in&nbsp;Afghanistan.

That could allow them to plot attacks against the United States and its allies, they fear, just as Osama bin Laden had done with the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes that triggered the war in&nbsp;Afghanistan.

The Taliban cannot win on the battlefield, it's time for them to join the peace process," General John Nicholson

The top US military commander in Afghanistan said on Thursday President Donald Trump's new strategy is a sign of a long-term commitment to what is already America's longest war and called on Taliban insurgents to agree to peace talks. "The Taliban cannot win on the battlefield, it's time for them to join the peace process," GeneralJohn Nicholson told reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul. "We will not fail in Afghanistan, our national security depends on that as well." Critics, including Trump himself during the 2016 campaign for the US presidency, have argued that Afghanistan is no closer to peace despite billions of dollars spent on aid and nearly 16 years of the US and allied military operations. In February, Nicholson told the US Congress he needed "a few thousand" more troops in Afghanistan, mostly to help advise Afghan security forces that are battling Taliban, Islamic State and other Islamist insurgents. Trump has now approved an extended American presence in Afghanistan, although neither he nor his military leaders have provided any specifics about troop numbers or timelines. The current US force for the predominantly advise-and-assist mission in Afghanistan stands at around 8,400, well down from around 100,000 during the "surge" decided on by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama. Several thousand more troops are often in the country on "temporary" or other uncounted missions. Nicholson said new advisers from the United States and NATO coalition allies would increase the training missions, including at specialized military schools and expanding the Afghan air force and special forces. He also praised Trump's decision not to impose "arbitrary" deadlines on the American mission in Afghanistan. "This policy announcement ... is proof of our continued commitment," he said. The Taliban government was overthrown by the US, backed Afghan forces in late 2001 but US forces have been bogged down there ever since. About 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan. US military and intelligence officials are concerned that a new Taliban victory would allow al Qaeda and Islamic State’s regional affiliate to establish bases in Afghanistan. That could allow them to plot attacks against the United States and its allies, they fear, just as Osama bin Laden had done with the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes that triggered the war in Afghanistan.

Trump's new strategy is long term commitment: US military commander in Afghanistan

Police fired pepper spray to disperse protesters outside a&nbsp;rally&nbsp;by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday after being pelted with rocks and bottles, police said.

Police have not given an estimate of the number of protesters, but Arizona media said there were several thousand. Police did not say whether the pepper spray was used on pro- or anti-Trump protesters, or both.

&quot;People in the crowd have begun throwing rocks and bottles at police,&quot; Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Jonathan Howard said.

&quot;Police have responded with pepper balls and OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd and stop the assaults,&quot; he said.

Four people were arrested during the protest, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said during a news conference.

&quot;We had tens of thousands of people downtown peacefully exercising their first amendment rights,&quot; Williams said. &quot;What&rsquo;s unfortunate is that a very small number of individuals chose criminal conduct.&quot;

Police called on the crowds to disperse. Many of the protesters quit the scene, while dozens of police in riot gear and carrying shields sought to clear remaining protesters from the downtown area.

The Phoenix Fire Department said it treated 56 people for heat exhaustion and dehydration at the convention center. Twelve people were taken to the hospital.

"People in the crowd have begun throwing rocks and bottles at police," Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Jonathan Howard said

Police fired pepper spray to disperse protesters outside a rally by US President Donald Trump in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday after being pelted with rocks and bottles, police said. Police have not given an estimate of the number of protesters, but Arizona media said there were several thousand. Police did not say whether the pepper spray was used on pro- or anti-Trump protesters, or both. "People in the crowd have begun throwing rocks and bottles at police," Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Jonathan Howard said. "Police have responded with pepper balls and OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd and stop the assaults," he said. Four people were arrested during the protest, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said during a news conference. "We had tens of thousands of people downtown peacefully exercising their first amendment rights," Williams said. "What’s unfortunate is that a very small number of individuals chose criminal conduct." Police called on the crowds to disperse. Many of the protesters quit the scene, while dozens of police in riot gear and carrying shields sought to clear remaining protesters from the downtown area. The Phoenix Fire Department said it treated 56 people for heat exhaustion and dehydration at the convention center. Twelve people were taken to the hospital.

Trump's Phoenix rally pelted with rocks and bottles, Police used pepper spray to disperse protesters

The United States wants to know if the United Nations atomic watchdog plans to inspect&nbsp;Iranian military sites to verify Tehran&#39;s compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, the US&nbsp;ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday.

Haley will meet with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials in Vienna on Wednesday for what she described as a fact-finding mission, which is part of President Donald Trump&#39;s review of the deal&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;made with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of most sanctions.

&quot;If you look ... at past&nbsp;Iranian behavior, what you&#39;ve seen is there have been covert actions at military sites, at universities, things like that,&quot; Haley, a member of Trump&#39;s cabinet, told Reuters in an interview.

&quot;There were already issues in those locations, so are they including that in what they look at to make sure that those issues no longer remain?&quot; she said. &quot;They have the authority to look at military sites now. They have the authority to look at any suspicious sites now, it&#39;s just are they doing it?&quot;

She said she was traveling to Vienna to ask questions, not to push the IAEA to do anything.

A spokesman for the IAEA said it had no immediate comment and that there were no public statements planned on the meeting.

Iran&#39;s top authorities have flatly rejected giving international inspectors access to their military sites, and&nbsp;Iranian officials have told Reuters that any such move would trigger harsh consequences.

&quot;Why would they say that if they had nothing to hide? Why wouldn&#39;t they let the IAEA go there?&quot; Haley said.

Iran&#39;s atomic chief was quoted by state media as saying on Tuesday that&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;could resume production of highly enriched uranium within five days if the nuclear deal was revoked.

In April, Trump ordered a review of whether a suspension of sanctions on&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;related to the nuclear deal - negotiated under President Barack Obama - was in the US&nbsp;national security interest. He has called it &quot;the worst deal ever negotiated.&quot;

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned last week that&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;could abandon the nuclear agreement &quot;within hours&quot; if the United States imposes any more new sanctions.

Most UN&nbsp;and Western sanctions were lifted 18 months ago under the nuclear deal.&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;is still subject to a UN&nbsp;arms embargo and other restrictions, which are not technically part of the deal.

The IAEA polices restrictions the deal placed on&nbsp;Iran&#39;s nuclear activities and reports quarterly.

Haley said some of the questions she had were: &quot;Are you looking at everything? Are you looking at those places where there has been covert activity in the past? Are you able to get access to these areas? Or are you being delayed? Are you being shut out from those things?&quot;

Under US&nbsp;law, the State Department must notify Congress every 90 days of&nbsp;Iran&#39;s compliance with the nuclear deal. The next deadline is October, and Trump has said he thinks by then the United States will declare&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;to be non-compliant.

&quot;We don&#39;t know if he&#39;s going to certify or decertify the deal,&quot; said Haley, adding that she would report back to Trump and the national security team.

The US&nbsp;review of its policy toward&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;is also looking at Tehran&#39;s behavior in the Middle East, which Washington has said undermines US&nbsp;interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

UN&nbsp;Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes the&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;nuclear deal is &quot;one of the most important diplomatic achievements in our search for, for peace and stability,&quot; UN&nbsp;spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday

&quot;Everyone involved needs to do its utmost to protect and support that agreement,&quot; Dujarric told reporters.

Iranian military sites to verify Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday

The United States wants to know if the United Nations atomic watchdog plans to inspect Iranian military sites to verify Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday. Haley will meet with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials in Vienna on Wednesday for what she described as a fact-finding mission, which is part of President Donald Trump's review of the deal Iran made with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of most sanctions. "If you look ... at past Iranian behavior, what you've seen is there have been covert actions at military sites, at universities, things like that," Haley, a member of Trump's cabinet, told Reuters in an interview. "There were already issues in those locations, so are they including that in what they look at to make sure that those issues no longer remain?" she said. "They have the authority to look at military sites now. They have the authority to look at any suspicious sites now, it's just are they doing it?" She said she was traveling to Vienna to ask questions, not to push the IAEA to do anything. A spokesman for the IAEA said it had no immediate comment and that there were no public statements planned on the meeting. Iran's top authorities have flatly rejected giving international inspectors access to their military sites, and Iranian officials have told Reuters that any such move would trigger harsh consequences. "Why would they say that if they had nothing to hide? Why wouldn't they let the IAEA go there?" Haley said. Iran's atomic chief was quoted by state media as saying on Tuesday that Iran could resume production of highly enriched uranium within five days if the nuclear deal was revoked. In April, Trump ordered a review of whether a suspension of sanctions on Iran related to the nuclear deal - negotiated under President Barack Obama - was in the US national security interest. He has called it "the worst deal ever negotiated." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned last week that Iran could abandon the nuclear agreement "within hours" if the United States imposes any more new sanctions. Most UN and Western sanctions were lifted 18 months ago under the nuclear deal. Iran is still subject to a UN arms embargo and other restrictions, which are not technically part of the deal. The IAEA polices restrictions the deal placed on Iran's nuclear activities and reports quarterly. Haley said some of the questions she had were: "Are you looking at everything? Are you looking at those places where there has been covert activity in the past? Are you able to get access to these areas? Or are you being delayed? Are you being shut out from those things?" Under US law, the State Department must notify Congress every 90 days of Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. The next deadline is October, and Trump has said he thinks by then the United States will declare Iran to be non-compliant. "We don't know if he's going to certify or decertify the deal," said Haley, adding that she would report back to Trump and the national security team. The US review of its policy toward Iran is also looking at Tehran's behavior in the Middle East, which Washington has said undermines US interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes the Iran nuclear deal is "one of the most important diplomatic achievements in our search for, for peace and stability," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday "Everyone involved needs to do its utmost to protect and support that agreement," Dujarric told reporters.

Iranian military sites asked, to be verified under nuclear deal, by US ambassador

Large protests could greet President Donald Trump&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;when he travels to Arizona for his first campaign rally since he caused an uproar with his remarks about a white nationalist demonstration in Virginia.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, asked the Republican president to postpone&nbsp;Tuesday&#39;s&nbsp;event scheduled for&nbsp;7 p.m. MST&nbsp;(0200 GMT&nbsp;on Wednesday) in light of his response to the street battles that broke out earlier this month at a protest against the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville.

Trump was widely criticized for blaming both white nationalists and counter-protesters for the violence at the rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

&quot;America is hurting. And it is hurting largely because Trump has doused racial tensions with gasoline,&quot; Stanton wrote in the Washington Post. &quot;With his planned visit to Phoenix&nbsp;on Tuesday, I fear the president may be looking to light a match.&quot;

Several anti-Trump demonstrations are planned for Phoenix, according to social media postings by local activists.

Some White House officials privately expressed concern&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;about Trump&#39;s Phoenix rally, fearing he might revisit the Charlottesville issue in the heat of the moment while cheered on by thousands of supporters.

Trump has railed against the media coverage of his remarks, saying on Twitter that news outlets &quot;totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry.&quot;

It will be Trump&#39;s first trip as president to Arizona, which he won in the 2016 election. He will also visit a border protection facility in Yuma, Arizona, along the U.S.-Mexican border as he seeks congressional funding for the wall he wants built..

Republican Governor Doug Ducey told the Arizona Republic&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;that he would welcome Trump on the tarmac when he arrived but would not attend the campaign rally. Instead, he said he would be focused on ensuring the safety of the event.

Trump has clashed with Arizona&#39;s two Republican U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, on various issues. Both lawmakers are critics of the president.

Last week, Trump in a tweet called Flake &quot;WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He&#39;s toxic!&quot; and appeared to endorse Kelli Ward, Flake&#39;s Republican challenger in his 2018 re-election race.

Trump said earlier this month that he was considering pardoning Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff found guilty of criminal contempt for violating the terms of a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case.

Trump has caused an uproar with his remarks about a white nationalist demonstration in Virginia which is expected to lead to protests by local activists in his Phoenix's rally

Large protests could greet President Donald Trump on Tuesday when he travels to Arizona for his first campaign rally since he caused an uproar with his remarks about a white nationalist demonstration in Virginia. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, asked the Republican president to postpone Tuesday's event scheduled for 7 p.m. MST (0200 GMT on Wednesday) in light of his response to the street battles that broke out earlier this month at a protest against the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville. Trump was widely criticized for blaming both white nationalists and counter-protesters for the violence at the rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. "America is hurting. And it is hurting largely because Trump has doused racial tensions with gasoline," Stanton wrote in the Washington Post. "With his planned visit to Phoenix on Tuesday, I fear the president may be looking to light a match." Several anti-Trump demonstrations are planned for Phoenix, according to social media postings by local activists. Some White House officials privately expressed concern on Monday about Trump's Phoenix rally, fearing he might revisit the Charlottesville issue in the heat of the moment while cheered on by thousands of supporters. Trump has railed against the media coverage of his remarks, saying on Twitter that news outlets "totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry." It will be Trump's first trip as president to Arizona, which he won in the 2016 election. He will also visit a border protection facility in Yuma, Arizona, along the U.S.-Mexican border as he seeks congressional funding for the wall he wants built.. Republican Governor Doug Ducey told the Arizona Republic on Monday that he would welcome Trump on the tarmac when he arrived but would not attend the campaign rally. Instead, he said he would be focused on ensuring the safety of the event. Trump has clashed with Arizona's two Republican U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, on various issues. Both lawmakers are critics of the president. Last week, Trump in a tweet called Flake "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" and appeared to endorse Kelli Ward, Flake's Republican challenger in his 2018 re-election race. Trump said earlier this month that he was considering pardoning Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff found guilty of criminal contempt for violating the terms of a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case.

Phoenix Mayor asked Trump to reschedule his rally in Phoenix.

Afghanistan&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;welcomed a decision by US President Donald Trump to renew America&#39;s engagement in the war-torn country and allow for the deployment of more troops.&nbsp;

President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement that the announcement showed the &quot;enduring commitment by Afghanistan&#39;s foundational partner in this global conflict&quot;.

President Ashraf Ghani said "enduring commitment by Afghanistan's foundational partner in this global conflict", after Trump's statement.

Afghanistan on Tuesday welcomed a decision by US President Donald Trump to renew America's engagement in the war-torn country and allow for the deployment of more troops. President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement that the announcement showed the "enduring commitment by Afghanistan's foundational partner in this global conflict".

Trump's "enduring commitment" towards Afghan welcomed by the President Ashraf Ghani.

Pakistan said today it wanted &quot;peace and stability&quot; in Afghanistan after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/reversing-course-trump-commits-to-open-ended-afghan-war-19303">President Trump singled out Pakistan for </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/reversing-course-trump-commits-to-open-ended-afghan-war-19303">harbouring</a> terrorists while announcing his Afganistan strategy.

Trump unveiled his<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-clears-way-for-troop-increase-in-afghanistan-19283"> Afg</a>hanistan<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-clears-way-for-troop-increase-in-afghanistan-19283"> plan today committing more troops </a>and fight an all out war against Taliban who have been fighting&nbsp;against US-led coalition forces since 2001.

&quot;The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable,&quot; he said. &quot;A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including IS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill.&quot;

On Pakistan, the president said: &quot;We can no longer be silent about Pakistan&rsquo;s safe havens,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor terrorists.&quot;&nbsp;

Pakistan&#39;s foreign ministry said it wanted &quot;peace and stability in Afganistan&quot;. The ministry said Pakistan&nbsp;&nbsp;continued to desire&nbsp;to work with the International Community to eliminate the menace of terrorism.&quot;

On India, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/nato-secretary-general-welcomes-new-us-approach-to-afghanistan-19314">Trump said the world&#39;s largest democracy</a>&nbsp;is a key security and economic partner of the United States.&nbsp;

&quot;We appreciate India&#39;s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp;

Pakistan had, in fact, declared it had taken action<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-has-cracked-down-on-islamist-militants-including-haqqani-network-army-19281"> against all Islamist militants including the Haqqani network</a> just hours ahead of a US announcement on Afghan policy on Monday.

&quot;There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. We have operated against all terrorists, including (the) Haqqani network,&quot; spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a media briefing in Islamabad.

He said evidence to that effect was shared with General Joseph Votel, chief of the US Central Command, who visited Pakistan over the weekend.

&nbsp;

"Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor terrorists."?

Pakistan said today it wanted "peace and stability" in Afghanistan after President Trump singled out Pakistan for harbouring terrorists while announcing his Afganistan strategy. Trump unveiled his Afghanistan plan today committing more troops and fight an all out war against Taliban who have been fighting against US-led coalition forces since 2001. "The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable," he said. "A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including IS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill." On Pakistan, the president said: "We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens," Trump said. "Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor terrorists." Pakistan's foreign ministry said it wanted "peace and stability in Afganistan". The ministry said Pakistan continued to desire to work with the International Community to eliminate the menace of terrorism." On India, Trump said the world's largest democracy is a key security and economic partner of the United States. "We appreciate India's important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development," Trump said. Pakistan had, in fact, declared it had taken action against all Islamist militants including the Haqqani network just hours ahead of a US announcement on Afghan policy on Monday. "There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. We have operated against all terrorists, including (the) Haqqani network," spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a media briefing in Islamabad. He said evidence to that effect was shared with General Joseph Votel, chief of the US Central Command, who visited Pakistan over the weekend.

Trump's 'safe haven for terrorist' remark: We want peace, stability in Afghanistan, says Pakistan

China on Tuesday defended its friend Pakistan against strong criticism by Donald Trump that the country is not doing enough to counter terrorism.

In a major speech outlining US policy on Afghanistan, the American president slammed Islamabad for offering safe haven to &quot;agents of chaos&quot;.

Successive US administrations have criticised Pakistan for links with the Taliban and for harbouring leading jihadists -- like Osama bin Laden.

&quot;We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting,&quot; Trump said, warning that vital aid could be cut.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying took a contrary view, telling reporters that Pakistan &quot;has made great sacrifices and contributions to fighting terrorism&quot;.

&quot;The international community should fully affirm the efforts by Pakistan,&quot; she told a regular press briefing. 
 
Beijing is investing around $50 billion in its South Asian neighbour as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 to link its far-western Xinjiang region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan province with upgraded infrastructure, power lines and transport links.

But fears over safety arose earlier this year when two Chinese workers were abducted in the provincial capital Quetta.

Balochistan is at the heart of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project but also racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies.

Pakistan responded by deploying a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese working on energy and infrastructure projects in the country.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman said Pakistan 'has made great sacrifices and contributions to fighting terrorism'

China on Tuesday defended its friend Pakistan against strong criticism by Donald Trump that the country is not doing enough to counter terrorism. In a major speech outlining US policy on Afghanistan, the American president slammed Islamabad for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos". Successive US administrations have criticised Pakistan for links with the Taliban and for harbouring leading jihadists -- like Osama bin Laden. "We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," Trump said, warning that vital aid could be cut. But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying took a contrary view, telling reporters that Pakistan "has made great sacrifices and contributions to fighting terrorism". "The international community should fully affirm the efforts by Pakistan," she told a regular press briefing. Beijing is investing around $50 billion in its South Asian neighbour as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 to link its far-western Xinjiang region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan province with upgraded infrastructure, power lines and transport links. But fears over safety arose earlier this year when two Chinese workers were abducted in the provincial capital Quetta. Balochistan is at the heart of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project but also racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies. Pakistan responded by deploying a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese working on energy and infrastructure projects in the country.

China defends Pakistan against Trump criticism

President Donald Trump on Friday fired his chief strategist Steve&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;in the latest White House shake-up, removing a far-right architect of his 2016 election victory and a driving force behind his nationalist and anti-globalisation agenda.

Bannon&#39;s firing, a year and a day after Trump hired him as his campaign chief, put an abrupt end to the rabble-rousing political provocateur&#39;s tumultuous tenure in a White House riven with rivalries and back-stabbing during which he clashed with more-moderate factions.

He was instrumental in some of Trump&#39;s most contentious policy moves including the ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries, abandoning the Paris climate accord, tearing up international trade agreements and cracking down on illegal immigration. He was no friend of the Republican political establishment and was loathed by liberals but was a darling of some of the president&#39;s hard-line conservative supporters.

White House officials said Trump had told new Chief of Staff John Kelly to crack down on the bickering and infighting, and that&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s fate was sealed by comments published on Wednesday in the American Prospect liberal magazine in which he spoke of targeting his adversaries within the administration.

Trump, seven months into his presidency, has become increasingly isolated over his comments following white supremacist violence in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville last Saturday and his attacks on fellow Republicans. Some Republicans had even begun questioning Trump&#39;s capacity to govern.

As Trump came under fire from Republicans including two former presidents, and from business leaders and U.S. allies abroad, he faced mounting calls for&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s ouster. Critics had accusedBannon&nbsp;of harbouring anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments.

&quot;White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;have mutually agreed today would be Steve&#39;s last day,&quot; White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Bannon&nbsp;returned to his post as executive chairman of right-wing Breitbart News on Friday afternoon, the website said. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, he had spearheaded Breitbart&#39;s shift into a forum for the &quot;alt-right,&quot; a loose online confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.

Bannon&nbsp;said his departure from the White House signals a major shift for the Trump agenda. &quot;The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over,&quot;&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;told the conservative Weekly Standard.

&quot;I just think his ability to get anything done - particularly the bigger things, like the wall, the bigger, broader things that we fought for, it&#39;s just gonna be that much harder,&quot;&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;said.

He said he would use Breitbart to attack opponents of the populist and nationalist agenda he championed, including establishment Republicans. &quot;I am definitely going to crush the opposition,&quot;Bannon&nbsp;said.

He became the latest key figure to abruptly depart a Trump White House that has been chaotic from its first days and already has lost a chief of staff, a national security adviser, two communications directors and a chief spokesman.

Trump&#39;s presidency also has been dogged by ongoing investigations in Congress and a special counsel named by the Justice Department into potential collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia, something both Trump and Moscow deny.

Bannon, 63, is a former U.S. Navy officer, Goldman Sachs investment banker and Hollywood movie producer.

He had been in a precarious position before but Trump opted to keep him, in part because he had played a major role in Trump&#39;s November 2016 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton and was backed by many of the president&#39;s most loyal rank-and-file supporters.

Democrats cheered&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s departure.

&quot;Steve&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s firing is welcome news,&quot; said Nancy Pelosi, the top House of Representatives Democrat. &quot;The Trump Administration must not only purge itself of the remaining white supremacists on staff, but abandon the bigoted ideology that clearly governs its decisions.&quot;

Markets react

Wall Street indexes &lt;.SPX&gt; and the U.S. dollar &lt;.DXY&gt; ended a volatile session lower after a week of drama in Washington intensified doubts about Trump&#39;s ability to deliver on policy objectives such as tax cuts. After a late-morning boost following reports of&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s ouster, the dollar and U.S. equities lost ground.

Bannon&nbsp;felt a close ideological connection to Trump&#39;s populist tendencies and &quot;America First&quot; message. Like Trump, he has also expressed deep scepticism concerning ongoing American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The decision to fire&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;could undermine Trump&#39;s support among far-right voters but might ease tensions within the White House and with party leaders. Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress but have been unable to pass major legislative goals including a healthcare overhaul.

Trump ran into trouble after saying anti-racism demonstrators in Charlottesville were as responsible for the violence as the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who instigated the protests, and that there were &quot;very fine people&quot; among both groups.

Those remarks sparked rebukes from fellow Republicans, top corporate executives and some close allies.

Bannon&#39;s departure removes a large source of friction on the White House staff, but does not herald a significant shift by Trump towards the centre on major policy issues, three administration officials said.

&quot;A good deal of what was attributed to&nbsp;Bannon, for example on China trade and restricting immigration, and the border wall, all came before&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;joined the campaign and would have happened without him,&quot; said one White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Bannon&nbsp;has been a hawk on China, urging a tougher line on trade to correct a huge trade imbalance and dismissive of recent efforts to try to elicit Beijing&#39;s help to rein in North Korea. In his comments to American Prospect,&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;said the United States was in an economic war with China.

A second official said the biggest winners from&nbsp;Bannon&rsquo;s departure are national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Gary Cohn, Trump&rsquo;s chief economic adviser; and Trump&rsquo;s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Bannon&#39;s departure cast a cloud over the future of the group of allies he had brought into the White House, such as Sebastian Gorka.

Some conservative activists expressed disappointment in&nbsp;Bannon&#39;s ouster. Republicans were largely quiet, though moderate Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she was glad&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;was out but that the administration &quot;must work to build bridges, not destroy them.&quot;

By the time Trump had hired&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;as campaign manager, the real estate magnate had already vanquished his Republican opponents for the party&#39;s presidential nomination.

Asked about&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;on Tuesday, Trump called him &quot;a friend of mine&quot; but downplayed his contribution to his election victory.

&quot;Mr.&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;came on very late. You know that. I went through 17 senators, governors and I won all the primaries. Mr.&nbsp;Bannon&nbsp;came on very much later than that. And I like him. He is a good man. He is not a racist,&quot; Trump said.

Far-right chief strategist Steve Bannon's dismissal comes as the White House reels from the fallout over Trump's response to a violent white supremacist rally

President Donald Trump on Friday fired his chief strategist Steve Bannon in the latest White House shake-up, removing a far-right architect of his 2016 election victory and a driving force behind his nationalist and anti-globalisation agenda. Bannon's firing, a year and a day after Trump hired him as his campaign chief, put an abrupt end to the rabble-rousing political provocateur's tumultuous tenure in a White House riven with rivalries and back-stabbing during which he clashed with more-moderate factions. He was instrumental in some of Trump's most contentious policy moves including the ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries, abandoning the Paris climate accord, tearing up international trade agreements and cracking down on illegal immigration. He was no friend of the Republican political establishment and was loathed by liberals but was a darling of some of the president's hard-line conservative supporters. White House officials said Trump had told new Chief of Staff John Kelly to crack down on the bickering and infighting, and that Bannon's fate was sealed by comments published on Wednesday in the American Prospect liberal magazine in which he spoke of targeting his adversaries within the administration. Trump, seven months into his presidency, has become increasingly isolated over his comments following white supremacist violence in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville last Saturday and his attacks on fellow Republicans. Some Republicans had even begun questioning Trump's capacity to govern. As Trump came under fire from Republicans including two former presidents, and from business leaders and U.S. allies abroad, he faced mounting calls for Bannon's ouster. Critics had accusedBannon of harbouring anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments. "White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. Bannon returned to his post as executive chairman of right-wing Breitbart News on Friday afternoon, the website said. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, he had spearheaded Breitbart's shift into a forum for the "alt-right," a loose online confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. Bannon said his departure from the White House signals a major shift for the Trump agenda. "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," Bannon told the conservative Weekly Standard. "I just think his ability to get anything done - particularly the bigger things, like the wall, the bigger, broader things that we fought for, it's just gonna be that much harder," Bannon said. He said he would use Breitbart to attack opponents of the populist and nationalist agenda he championed, including establishment Republicans. "I am definitely going to crush the opposition,"Bannon said. He became the latest key figure to abruptly depart a Trump White House that has been chaotic from its first days and already has lost a chief of staff, a national security adviser, two communications directors and a chief spokesman. Trump's presidency also has been dogged by ongoing investigations in Congress and a special counsel named by the Justice Department into potential collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia, something both Trump and Moscow deny. Bannon, 63, is a former U.S. Navy officer, Goldman Sachs investment banker and Hollywood movie producer. He had been in a precarious position before but Trump opted to keep him, in part because he had played a major role in Trump's November 2016 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton and was backed by many of the president's most loyal rank-and-file supporters. Democrats cheered Bannon's departure. "Steve Bannon's firing is welcome news," said Nancy Pelosi, the top House of Representatives Democrat. "The Trump Administration must not only purge itself of the remaining white supremacists on staff, but abandon the bigoted ideology that clearly governs its decisions." Markets react Wall Street indexes <.SPX> and the U.S. dollar <.DXY> ended a volatile session lower after a week of drama in Washington intensified doubts about Trump's ability to deliver on policy objectives such as tax cuts. After a late-morning boost following reports of Bannon's ouster, the dollar and U.S. equities lost ground. Bannon felt a close ideological connection to Trump's populist tendencies and "America First" message. Like Trump, he has also expressed deep scepticism concerning ongoing American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The decision to fire Bannon could undermine Trump's support among far-right voters but might ease tensions within the White House and with party leaders. Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress but have been unable to pass major legislative goals including a healthcare overhaul. Trump ran into trouble after saying anti-racism demonstrators in Charlottesville were as responsible for the violence as the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who instigated the protests, and that there were "very fine people" among both groups. Those remarks sparked rebukes from fellow Republicans, top corporate executives and some close allies. Bannon's departure removes a large source of friction on the White House staff, but does not herald a significant shift by Trump towards the centre on major policy issues, three administration officials said. "A good deal of what was attributed to Bannon, for example on China trade and restricting immigration, and the border wall, all came before Bannon joined the campaign and would have happened without him," said one White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Bannon has been a hawk on China, urging a tougher line on trade to correct a huge trade imbalance and dismissive of recent efforts to try to elicit Beijing's help to rein in North Korea. In his comments to American Prospect, Bannon said the United States was in an economic war with China. A second official said the biggest winners from Bannon’s departure are national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Gary Cohn, Trump’s chief economic adviser; and Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. Bannon's departure cast a cloud over the future of the group of allies he had brought into the White House, such as Sebastian Gorka. Some conservative activists expressed disappointment in Bannon's ouster. Republicans were largely quiet, though moderate Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she was glad Bannon was out but that the administration "must work to build bridges, not destroy them." By the time Trump had hired Bannon as campaign manager, the real estate magnate had already vanquished his Republican opponents for the party's presidential nomination. Asked about Bannon on Tuesday, Trump called him "a friend of mine" but downplayed his contribution to his election victory. "Mr. Bannon came on very late. You know that. I went through 17 senators, governors and I won all the primaries. Mr. Bannon came on very much later than that. And I like him. He is a good man. He is not a racist," Trump said.

Trump fires far-right chief strategist Steve Bannon

President Donald Trump said Thursday the history and culture of the United States were being &quot;ripped apart&quot; by the removal of statues memorializing the Confederate era.

&quot;Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,&quot; Trump wrote on Twitter.

&quot;You can&#39;t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson -- who&#39;s next. Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!&quot;

Trump&#39;s latest tweets pile more fuel on a political firestorm ignited by the president&#39;s attempts to shift blame for deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia to anti-racism counter-protesters.

The &quot;Unite the Right&quot; rally, which drew hundreds of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and white supremacists marching to anti-Semitic chants, was nominally prompted by plans to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee from a Charlottesville park.

Lee and Jackson, another Confederate commander during the 1861-1865 Civil War, have long been celebrated by many white southerners as icons of a lost cause, and reviled by other Americans as traitorous defenders of a slave-holding south.

&quot;The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!&quot; Trump said in a third tweet.

Trump is facing a barrage of criticism for his attempt to shift the blame on counter-protesters for the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville

President Donald Trump said Thursday the history and culture of the United States were being "ripped apart" by the removal of statues memorializing the Confederate era. "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," Trump wrote on Twitter. "You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson -- who's next. Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Trump's latest tweets pile more fuel on a political firestorm ignited by the president's attempts to shift blame for deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia to anti-racism counter-protesters. The "Unite the Right" rally, which drew hundreds of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and white supremacists marching to anti-Semitic chants, was nominally prompted by plans to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee from a Charlottesville park. Lee and Jackson, another Confederate commander during the 1861-1865 Civil War, have long been celebrated by many white southerners as icons of a lost cause, and reviled by other Americans as traitorous defenders of a slave-holding south. "The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!" Trump said in a third tweet.

US culture and history being 'ripped apart' by removal of Confederate statues: Trump

President Donald Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after several chief executives quit in protest over his remarks of blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them.

A parade of prominent Republicans and US&nbsp;ally Britain also rebuked Trump, leaving him increasingly isolated after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in the college town of Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy.

The mayor of Phoenix asked Trump to delay a rally planned for next Tuesday, an appeal the president appeared to reject.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, killed when a car plowed into anti-racism protesters. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harboured Nazi sympathies has been charged with murder.

Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in the business world and ability to strike deals. But some of the Republican president&#39;s actions and words have alienated many corporate leaders.

Trump said he would dissolve the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum after eight executives including Campbell Soup Co CEO&nbsp;Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO&nbsp;Inge Thulin quit the panels.

Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter.

&quot;Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council &amp; Strategy &amp; Policy Forum, I am ending both,&quot; he wrote.

The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group&nbsp;CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of Trump in the business world. Schwarzman organised a call on Wednesday for member executives to voice concerns after Trump&#39;s comments, and an overwhelming majority backed disbanding the council, two sources said.

Schwarzman then called Trump to tell him about the decision to disband.

&quot;Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville,&quot; Morrison said.

JP Morgan Chase &amp; Co&nbsp;CEO Jamie Dimon, a member of one of the panels, said in a statement that &quot;fanning divisiveness is not the answer.&quot;

Dow Chemical Co&nbsp;Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, who headed the manufacturing council, said he told the White House on Wednesday that &quot;in the current environment it was no longer possible to conduct productive discussions.&quot;

The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation, and productivity. The manufacturing Council was designed to promote US&nbsp;job growth.

Along with the snubs from business leaders, Trump was rebuked by a string of Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham and former US&nbsp;presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The president needs the support of fellow Republicans as he tries to push his policy agenda, including tax cuts, through a Congress that is controlled by the Republicans.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said Trump would &quot;enflame emotions and further divide our nation&quot; if he used next week&#39;s rally to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty last month of criminal contempt of court. Arpaio gained a national profile due to his harsh treatment of inmates and outspoken opposition to illegal immigration.

Shortly after Stanton&#39;s statement, Trump urged supporters on Twitter to attend the rally.

Few public figures have voiced support for Trump over his response to the violence. Vice President Mike Pence, who is cutting short a trip to Latin America, told reporters in Chile that &quot;I stand with the president and I stand by those words.&quot; Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised Trump&#39;s &quot;honesty and courage.&quot; Richard Spencer, head of a white nationalist group, lauded the president for &quot;speaking the truth.&quot;

US&nbsp;stocks ended slightly firmer but off the day&#39;s highs as investors worried that the backlash to Trump&#39;s remarks could stunt his ability to deliver on pro-business promises.

A former senior Trump administration official raised the prospect that some White House officials could quit because of Trump&#39;s comments.

The demise of the councils raised Wall Street speculation that senior administration figures such as White House economic adviser Gary Cohn or US&nbsp;Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin might step down to avoid the tarnish of being associated with Trump.

Cohn, Mnuchin, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stood awkwardly by Trump during his remarks at Trump Tower on Tuesday.

&quot;He&#39;s worried about his reputation being trashed, which is much more valuable to him than anything else,&quot; the former administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Cohn.

McConnell, who last week drew Trump&#39;s ire over the Senate&#39;s failure to pass healthcare legislation, issued a statement saying &quot;messages of hate and bigotry&quot; from white supremacists, should not be welcome in the United States. McConnell&#39;s statement did not mention Trump by name.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, a group whose board includes big party donors including casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, called on Trump to &quot;provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry, and antisemitism.&quot;

There is &quot;simply no place&quot; in American public discourse for &quot;hate and violence&quot; displayed in Charlottesville, US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before meeting with Canada&#39;s foreign minister.

Trump&#39;s remarks on Tuesday were a more vehement reprisal of his initial response to the bloodshed. At a heated news conference in New York, he said &quot;there is blame on both sides&quot; of the violence, and that there were &quot;very fine people&quot; on both sides.

In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May offered a rare rebuke of Trump from so close a US&nbsp;ally.

&quot;I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them,&quot; May told reporters.

Politicians in Germany, which has tough laws against hate speech and any symbols linked to the Nazis who murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust, expressed shock at the images of people in Charlottesville carrying swastikas and chanting anti-Jewish slurs. The country&#39;s justice minister accused Trump of trivializing anti-Semitism and racism.

Senior American military officers usually stay clear of politics, but two more of the US&nbsp;military&#39;s top officers weighed in on Wednesday, without explicitly mentioning Trump.

US&nbsp;Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley wrote on Twitter, &quot;The Army doesn&#39;t tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It&#39;s against our Values and everything we&#39;ve stood for since 1775.&quot;

Air Force Chief of Staff General Dave Goldfein&rlm; said on Twitter that &quot;I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we&#39;re always stronger together.&quot;

Their comments followed similar ones from the top officers of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Several chief executives quit after Trump blamed weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists

President Donald Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after several chief executives quit in protest over his remarks of blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them. A parade of prominent Republicans and US ally Britain also rebuked Trump, leaving him increasingly isolated after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in the college town of Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy. The mayor of Phoenix asked Trump to delay a rally planned for next Tuesday, an appeal the president appeared to reject. A memorial service was held on Wednesday in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, killed when a car plowed into anti-racism protesters. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harboured Nazi sympathies has been charged with murder. Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in the business world and ability to strike deals. But some of the Republican president's actions and words have alienated many corporate leaders. Trump said he would dissolve the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum after eight executives including Campbell Soup Co CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO Inge Thulin quit the panels. Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter. "Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both," he wrote. The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of Trump in the business world. Schwarzman organised a call on Wednesday for member executives to voice concerns after Trump's comments, and an overwhelming majority backed disbanding the council, two sources said. Schwarzman then called Trump to tell him about the decision to disband. "Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville," Morrison said. JP Morgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon, a member of one of the panels, said in a statement that "fanning divisiveness is not the answer." Dow Chemical Co Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, who headed the manufacturing council, said he told the White House on Wednesday that "in the current environment it was no longer possible to conduct productive discussions." The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation, and productivity. The manufacturing Council was designed to promote US job growth. Along with the snubs from business leaders, Trump was rebuked by a string of Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham and former US presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. The president needs the support of fellow Republicans as he tries to push his policy agenda, including tax cuts, through a Congress that is controlled by the Republicans. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said Trump would "enflame emotions and further divide our nation" if he used next week's rally to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty last month of criminal contempt of court. Arpaio gained a national profile due to his harsh treatment of inmates and outspoken opposition to illegal immigration. Shortly after Stanton's statement, Trump urged supporters on Twitter to attend the rally. Few public figures have voiced support for Trump over his response to the violence. Vice President Mike Pence, who is cutting short a trip to Latin America, told reporters in Chile that "I stand with the president and I stand by those words." Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised Trump's "honesty and courage." Richard Spencer, head of a white nationalist group, lauded the president for "speaking the truth." US stocks ended slightly firmer but off the day's highs as investors worried that the backlash to Trump's remarks could stunt his ability to deliver on pro-business promises. A former senior Trump administration official raised the prospect that some White House officials could quit because of Trump's comments. The demise of the councils raised Wall Street speculation that senior administration figures such as White House economic adviser Gary Cohn or US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin might step down to avoid the tarnish of being associated with Trump. Cohn, Mnuchin, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stood awkwardly by Trump during his remarks at Trump Tower on Tuesday. "He's worried about his reputation being trashed, which is much more valuable to him than anything else," the former administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Cohn. McConnell, who last week drew Trump's ire over the Senate's failure to pass healthcare legislation, issued a statement saying "messages of hate and bigotry" from white supremacists, should not be welcome in the United States. McConnell's statement did not mention Trump by name. The Republican Jewish Coalition, a group whose board includes big party donors including casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, called on Trump to "provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry, and antisemitism." There is "simply no place" in American public discourse for "hate and violence" displayed in Charlottesville, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before meeting with Canada's foreign minister. Trump's remarks on Tuesday were a more vehement reprisal of his initial response to the bloodshed. At a heated news conference in New York, he said "there is blame on both sides" of the violence, and that there were "very fine people" on both sides. In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May offered a rare rebuke of Trump from so close a US ally. "I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them," May told reporters. Politicians in Germany, which has tough laws against hate speech and any symbols linked to the Nazis who murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust, expressed shock at the images of people in Charlottesville carrying swastikas and chanting anti-Jewish slurs. The country's justice minister accused Trump of trivializing anti-Semitism and racism. Senior American military officers usually stay clear of politics, but two more of the US military's top officers weighed in on Wednesday, without explicitly mentioning Trump. US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley wrote on Twitter, "The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775." Air Force Chief of Staff General Dave Goldfein‏ said on Twitter that "I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we're always stronger together." Their comments followed similar ones from the top officers of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Trump disbands business councils after CEOs quit in protest

US President Donald Trump unabashedly insisted on Tuesday that both left- and right-wing extremists resorted to violence during a weekend rally by white nationalists in Virginia and that some present were peacefully protesting plans to remove a Confederate monument when the upheaval began.

Trump, taking questions from reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, reverted to his initial comments blaming &quot;many sides&quot; for Saturday&#39;s violence in Charlottesville, a day after bowing to pressure to explicitly condemn the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

&quot;They came at each other with clubs ... it was a horrible thing to watch,&quot; Trump said during what was supposed to be an announcement about his administration&#39;s infrastructure policy. He also said left-wing protesters &quot;came violently attacking the other group.&quot;

Trump has faced a storm of criticism from Democrats and members of his own Republican Party over his response to the deadly violence, which erupted after white nationalists converged in Charlottesville for a &quot;Unite the Right&quot; rally in protest of plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, commander of the pro-slavery Confederate army during the US&nbsp;Civil War.

Many of the rally participants were seen carrying firearms, sticks and shields. Some also wore helmets. Counter-protesters likewise came equipped with sticks, helmets and shields.

The two sides clashed in scattered street brawls before a car plowed into the rally opponents, killing one woman and injuring 19 others. A 20-year-old Ohio man, James Fields, said to have harboured Nazi sympathies, was charged with murder.

Two state police officers also were killed that day in the fiery crash of the helicopter they were flying in as part of crowd-control operations.

Addressing the melee for the first time on Saturday, Trump denounced hatred and violence &quot;on many sides.&quot; The comment drew sharp criticism across the political spectrum for not explicitly condemning the white nationalists whose presence in the Southern college town was widely seen as having provoked the unrest.

Critics said Trump&#39;s remarks then belied his reluctance to alienate extreme right-wing organizations, whose followers constitute a devoted segment of his political base despite his disavowal of them.

Yielding two days later to a mounting political furore over his initial response, Trump delivered a follow-up message expressly referring to the &quot;KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists and other hate groups&quot; as &quot;repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.&quot;

Trump&#39;s detractors dismissed his revised statements as too little too late, but his remarks on Tuesday casting blame on both sides and suggesting that not everyone attending the rally was a white supremacist newly inflamed the controversy.

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke immediately applauded Trump on Twitter.

&quot;Thank you, President Trump, for your honesty &amp; courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville &amp; condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa,&quot; Duke wrote, referring to Black Lives Matter (BLM) and anti-fascists.

Democrats seized on Trump&#39;s latest words as evidence that Trump sees white nationalists and those protesting against them as morally equivalent.

&quot;By saying he is not taking sides, Donald Trump clearly is,&quot; Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York, said. &quot;When David Duke and white supremacists cheer your remarks, you&#39;re doing it very, very wrong.&quot;

In a similar vein, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said Trump&#39;s characterization of the violence missed the mark.

&ldquo;Neo-Nazis, Klansmen and white supremacists came to Charlottesville heavily armed, spewing hatred and looking for a fight. One of them murdered a young woman in an act of domestic terrorism, and two of our finest officers were killed in a tragic accident while serving to protect this community. This was not &#39;both sides,&#39;&quot; he said.

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labour federation representing 12.5 million workers, became the latest member of Trump&#39;s advisory American Manufacturing Council to resign in protest, saying, &quot;We cannot sit on a council for a president who tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism,&quot; Trumka said. &quot;President Trump&#39;s remarks today repudiate his forced remarks yesterday about the KKK and neo-Nazis.&quot;

Three other members of the council - the chief executives of pharmaceutical maker Merck &amp; Co Inc, sportswear company Under Armour Inc and computer chipmaker Intel Corp - resigned on Monday.

In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump also sympathized with protesters seeking to keep Lee&#39;s statue in place but offered no equivalent remarks for those who favoured its removal.

&quot;You had people in that group ... that were there to protest the taking down of a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name,&quot; Trump said.

Trump also grouped former presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, two of the nation&#39;s founding fathers, together with Confederate leaders such as Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson, who fought to separate Southern states from the Union, noting that all were slave owners.

&quot;Was George Washington a slave owner? Will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? ... Because he was a major slave owner,&quot; Trump said.

On Tuesday, Trump explained his initial restrained response by saying: &quot;The statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement, but you don&#39;t make statements that direct unless you know the facts. It takes a little while to get the facts.&quot;

In a sometimes heated exchange with reporters shouting questions, Trump said, &quot;You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.&quot;

He said that while neo-Nazis and white nationalists &quot;should be condemned totally,&quot; Trump said protesters in the other group &quot;also had trouble-makers. And you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You got a lot of bad people in the other group too.&quot;

He insisted that both left- and right-wing extremists resorted to violence during a weekend rally by white nationalists in Virginia

US President Donald Trump unabashedly insisted on Tuesday that both left- and right-wing extremists resorted to violence during a weekend rally by white nationalists in Virginia and that some present were peacefully protesting plans to remove a Confederate monument when the upheaval began. Trump, taking questions from reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, reverted to his initial comments blaming "many sides" for Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, a day after bowing to pressure to explicitly condemn the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups. "They came at each other with clubs ... it was a horrible thing to watch," Trump said during what was supposed to be an announcement about his administration's infrastructure policy. He also said left-wing protesters "came violently attacking the other group." Trump has faced a storm of criticism from Democrats and members of his own Republican Party over his response to the deadly violence, which erupted after white nationalists converged in Charlottesville for a "Unite the Right" rally in protest of plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, commander of the pro-slavery Confederate army during the US Civil War. Many of the rally participants were seen carrying firearms, sticks and shields. Some also wore helmets. Counter-protesters likewise came equipped with sticks, helmets and shields. The two sides clashed in scattered street brawls before a car plowed into the rally opponents, killing one woman and injuring 19 others. A 20-year-old Ohio man, James Fields, said to have harboured Nazi sympathies, was charged with murder. Two state police officers also were killed that day in the fiery crash of the helicopter they were flying in as part of crowd-control operations. Addressing the melee for the first time on Saturday, Trump denounced hatred and violence "on many sides." The comment drew sharp criticism across the political spectrum for not explicitly condemning the white nationalists whose presence in the Southern college town was widely seen as having provoked the unrest. Critics said Trump's remarks then belied his reluctance to alienate extreme right-wing organizations, whose followers constitute a devoted segment of his political base despite his disavowal of them. Yielding two days later to a mounting political furore over his initial response, Trump delivered a follow-up message expressly referring to the "KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists and other hate groups" as "repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans." Trump's detractors dismissed his revised statements as too little too late, but his remarks on Tuesday casting blame on both sides and suggesting that not everyone attending the rally was a white supremacist newly inflamed the controversy. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke immediately applauded Trump on Twitter. "Thank you, President Trump, for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa," Duke wrote, referring to Black Lives Matter (BLM) and anti-fascists. Democrats seized on Trump's latest words as evidence that Trump sees white nationalists and those protesting against them as morally equivalent. "By saying he is not taking sides, Donald Trump clearly is," Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York, said. "When David Duke and white supremacists cheer your remarks, you're doing it very, very wrong." In a similar vein, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said Trump's characterization of the violence missed the mark. “Neo-Nazis, Klansmen and white supremacists came to Charlottesville heavily armed, spewing hatred and looking for a fight. One of them murdered a young woman in an act of domestic terrorism, and two of our finest officers were killed in a tragic accident while serving to protect this community. This was not 'both sides,'" he said. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labour federation representing 12.5 million workers, became the latest member of Trump's advisory American Manufacturing Council to resign in protest, saying, "We cannot sit on a council for a president who tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism," Trumka said. "President Trump's remarks today repudiate his forced remarks yesterday about the KKK and neo-Nazis." Three other members of the council - the chief executives of pharmaceutical maker Merck & Co Inc, sportswear company Under Armour Inc and computer chipmaker Intel Corp - resigned on Monday. In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump also sympathized with protesters seeking to keep Lee's statue in place but offered no equivalent remarks for those who favoured its removal. "You had people in that group ... that were there to protest the taking down of a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name," Trump said. Trump also grouped former presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, two of the nation's founding fathers, together with Confederate leaders such as Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson, who fought to separate Southern states from the Union, noting that all were slave owners. "Was George Washington a slave owner? Will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? ... Because he was a major slave owner," Trump said. On Tuesday, Trump explained his initial restrained response by saying: "The statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement, but you don't make statements that direct unless you know the facts. It takes a little while to get the facts." In a sometimes heated exchange with reporters shouting questions, Trump said, "You also had people that were very fine people on both sides." He said that while neo-Nazis and white nationalists "should be condemned totally," Trump said protesters in the other group "also had trouble-makers. And you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You got a lot of bad people in the other group too."

Trump says 'both sides' to blame for Virginia violence

Japan was on Saturday deploying its Patriot missile defence system after North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles over the country towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, reports said.

Regional tensions are mounting as Washington and Pyongyang ratchet up their war of words, with President Donald Trump warning Pyongyang would &quot;truly regret&quot; any hostile action against the US.

The defence ministry started deploying the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system in Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi in western Japan, which Pyongyang warned could be along its missiles&#39; flight path, public broadcaster NHK said.

It was also to deploy the anti-missile system in neighbouring Ehime, NHK said.

Television footage showed military vehicles carrying launchers and other equipment for the surface-to-air system entering a Japanese base in Kochi before dawn.

While immediate confirmation of the reports was not available, Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory.

The government hopes to complete deployment of the system in western Japan by Saturday morning, Kyodo News said, quoting defence ministry officials.&nbsp;

Yoshihide Suga, Japan&#39;s chief government spokesman, said earlier this week that Tokyo &quot;can never tolerate&quot; provocations from North Korea and the country&#39;s military, will &quot;take necessary measures.&quot;

In 2009, a North Korean rocket passed over Japanese territory without incident or any attempt to shoot it down.

At the time North Korea said it was launching a telecommunications satellite, but Washington, Seoul and Tokyo believed Pyongyang was testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Television footage showed military vehicles carrying launchers and other equipment for the surface-to-air system entering a Japanese base in Kochi before dawn

Japan was on Saturday deploying its Patriot missile defence system after North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles over the country towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, reports said. Regional tensions are mounting as Washington and Pyongyang ratchet up their war of words, with President Donald Trump warning Pyongyang would "truly regret" any hostile action against the US. The defence ministry started deploying the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system in Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi in western Japan, which Pyongyang warned could be along its missiles' flight path, public broadcaster NHK said. It was also to deploy the anti-missile system in neighbouring Ehime, NHK said. Television footage showed military vehicles carrying launchers and other equipment for the surface-to-air system entering a Japanese base in Kochi before dawn. While immediate confirmation of the reports was not available, Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory. The government hopes to complete deployment of the system in western Japan by Saturday morning, Kyodo News said, quoting defence ministry officials. Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief government spokesman, said earlier this week that Tokyo "can never tolerate" provocations from North Korea and the country's military, will "take necessary measures." In 2009, a North Korean rocket passed over Japanese territory without incident or any attempt to shoot it down. At the time North Korea said it was launching a telecommunications satellite, but Washington, Seoul and Tokyo believed Pyongyang was testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Japan deploys missile defence after North Korea threat to Guam: Reports

Gold on Thursday held steady near two-month highs hit the session before, bolstered by safe-haven demand triggered by rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. 
North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump that it would face &quot;fire and fury&quot; if it threatened the United States as a &quot;load of nonsense&quot;, and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

&quot;(Safe-haven demand) has settled down to a certain extent, but the market is still expecting more news to come,&quot; said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.

&quot;North Korea doesn&#39;t seem like they&#39;re going to back down and the US&nbsp;has also made a very strong stance this time.&quot;

Geopolitical risk can boost demand for assets seen as safe-havens such as gold.

Spot gold had eased 0.1 per cent to $1,276.40 per ounce at 0322 GMT. The precious metal climbed 1.3 per cent in the previous session, its biggest gain since mid-May, and touched $1,278.66 an ounce, it highest level since June 14. 
 
US&nbsp;gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2 per cent to $1,281.90 per ounce on Thursday.

Asian stocks steadied and US&nbsp;Treasury bond prices fell slightly on Thursday as the risk aversion triggered by tensions between the United States and North Korea began to settle.

&quot;Amid all the sabre-rattling, we expect gold prices to continue to move higher and likely cross the $1,300 an ounce mark in relative short order,&quot; said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.

The market was also waiting for data that would offer clues about the extent to which the strengthening US&nbsp;labour market is spilling over into inflation.

&quot;Investors tend to be more cautious ahead of economic data, especially when the prices are high. They might take profits first and wait to see what&#39;s going to happen before they move into the market again,&quot; said GoldSilver&#39;s Lan.

In other precious metals, silver was nearly flat at $16.90 per ounce after hitting its highest since June 15 earlier in the session.

Platinum was also almost unchanged at $971.75 per ounce. In the previous session, it marked its highest since April 21 at $980.60. 
Palladium prices were flat at $891.00 per ounce.

The market was also waiting for data that would offer clues about the extent to which the strengthening US labour market is spilling over into inflation.

Gold on Thursday held steady near two-month highs hit the session before, bolstered by safe-haven demand triggered by rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam. "(Safe-haven demand) has settled down to a certain extent, but the market is still expecting more news to come," said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore. "North Korea doesn't seem like they're going to back down and the US has also made a very strong stance this time." Geopolitical risk can boost demand for assets seen as safe-havens such as gold. Spot gold had eased 0.1 per cent to $1,276.40 per ounce at 0322 GMT. The precious metal climbed 1.3 per cent in the previous session, its biggest gain since mid-May, and touched $1,278.66 an ounce, it highest level since June 14. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2 per cent to $1,281.90 per ounce on Thursday. Asian stocks steadied and US Treasury bond prices fell slightly on Thursday as the risk aversion triggered by tensions between the United States and North Korea began to settle. "Amid all the sabre-rattling, we expect gold prices to continue to move higher and likely cross the $1,300 an ounce mark in relative short order," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. The market was also waiting for data that would offer clues about the extent to which the strengthening US labour market is spilling over into inflation. "Investors tend to be more cautious ahead of economic data, especially when the prices are high. They might take profits first and wait to see what's going to happen before they move into the market again," said GoldSilver's Lan. In other precious metals, silver was nearly flat at $16.90 per ounce after hitting its highest since June 15 earlier in the session. Platinum was also almost unchanged at $971.75 per ounce. In the previous session, it marked its highest since April 21 at $980.60. Palladium prices were flat at $891.00 per ounce.

Gold inches down from near-two month high

The United States is speaking out with a unified message on North Korea, the US State Department insisted Wednesday, playing down divergent comments from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

&quot;Whether it&#39;s the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, we are speaking with one voice,&quot; said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

&quot;And the world is, in fact, speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the UN Security Council with the resolution that passed less than a week ago&quot; approving more sanctions against Pyongyang, she said.

She was speaking after Trump warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he faced &quot;fire and fury&quot; over his weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was &quot;more powerful than ever.&quot; &nbsp;&nbsp;

As tensions on the Korean peninsula flared, Tillerson took a very different tone, insisting there was &quot;no immediate threat&quot; from North Korea.&nbsp;

Nauert said Trump&#39;s remarks fit into a &quot;pressure campaign&quot; to force North Korea to back off from its nuclear development and further missile tests.&nbsp;

&quot;That campaign is working,&quot; she said, adding that Trump and Tillerson held an hour-long phone conversation after the president&#39;s comments.

&quot;Let&#39;s consider what is alarming,&quot; she said. &quot;What is alarming, two ICBM tests in less than a month, two nuclear tests that took place last year.&quot;

Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was 'more powerful than ever'

The United States is speaking out with a unified message on North Korea, the US State Department insisted Wednesday, playing down divergent comments from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "Whether it's the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, we are speaking with one voice," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. "And the world is, in fact, speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the UN Security Council with the resolution that passed less than a week ago" approving more sanctions against Pyongyang, she said. She was speaking after Trump warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he faced "fire and fury" over his weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was "more powerful than ever." As tensions on the Korean peninsula flared, Tillerson took a very different tone, insisting there was "no immediate threat" from North Korea. Nauert said Trump's remarks fit into a "pressure campaign" to force North Korea to back off from its nuclear development and further missile tests. "That campaign is working," she said, adding that Trump and Tillerson held an hour-long phone conversation after the president's comments. "Let's consider what is alarming," she said. "What is alarming, two ICBM tests in less than a month, two nuclear tests that took place last year."

US on North Korea: 'speaking with one voice'

By -&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ronald-r-krebs-386820">Ronald R. Krebs</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-ralston-391554">Robert Ralston</a>

Six months have passed since Donald Trump entered the Oval Office.

His administration remains <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/help-wanted-why-republicans-wont-work-for-the-trump-administration/2017/06/17/61e3d33e-506a-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.2025795c2578">deeply understaffed</a>. His legislative agenda is stymied. He has been <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/28/trumps-executive-orders-are-mostly-theater-215081">active in issuing executive orders</a>, but many are toothless, others are only in the early stages of undoing Obama policies and some are tied up in the courts. So far, Trump&rsquo;s leadership has mostly been defined by his rhetoric.

And his rhetoric, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/what-language-experts-find-so-strange-about-donald-trump-2f067c20156e/">the conventional wisdom</a> holds, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/inauguration-2017/analysis-contrast-between-obama-trump-unprecedented-n708456">could not be more different from his predecessor&rsquo;s</a>.

Barack Obama was, as president, eloquent. His language was sophisticated. He spoke in measured tones and advanced informed, reasoned dialogue.

Donald Trump is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/13/donald-trumps-rhetoric-how-being-inarticulate-is-seen-as-authentic">inarticulate and brusque</a>. His language is <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/donald-trump-talks-like-a-third-grader-121340">simplistic</a>. He dishes out invective. He shows <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims/?tid=a_inl&amp;utm_term=.32c29849b1a0">so little regard for the facts</a> that some say he&rsquo;s the exemplar of a &ldquo;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-unbearable-stench-of-trumps-bs/2016/08/04/aa5d2798-5a6e-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?utm_term=.b6d1ff833645">bullshit artist</a>.&rdquo; And he promotes a dialogue of the deaf.

The differences between Trump&rsquo;s and Obama&rsquo;s rhetorical styles seem stark. Yet, when we set aside the presidents&rsquo; speaking styles and looked more carefully at the specific words Trump employed in his first months in office, we were surprised to discover that, in certain ways, these two presidents are remarkably like each other and unlike their predecessors. Here&rsquo;s what we found &ndash; and why Obama and Trump have more in common than you would think.

How we did our research

Our analysis is based on Trump&rsquo;s more substantial speeches &ndash; which we somewhat arbitrarily define as those longer than 500 words &ndash; which were directed primarily at domestic audiences. We scraped from the website of the <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/">American Presidency Project</a> all of Trump&rsquo;s campaign speeches and presidential addresses through July 1 that met these criteria. We ended up with 74 campaign speeches, representing more than 230,000 words, and 56 presidential addresses, which included more than 122,000 words. We compared these bodies of speech to each other and to a separate database of post-war presidential speech that one of us had collected, using these same criteria, for <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/international-relations-and-international-organisations/narrative-and-making-us-national-security?format=PB#crJovch3AZvu6GKd.97">a recently published book</a>.

We ran these speeches through a specialized computerized content analysis program called <a href="http://www.dictionsoftware.com/">Diction</a>. Diction contains 33 separate dictionaries tailored to political speech. It searches texts for the words contained in the designated dictionaries and then calculates the number of words from each dictionary that would be present in a typical 500-word sample.

Obama and Trump vs. everyone else

On two key dimensions, Obama and Trump look similar &ndash; and stand in marked contrast to all other presidents.

First, their rhetoric is much more self-referential, meaning it uses more first-person pronouns. Obama&rsquo;s rhetoric is 69 per cent more self-referential than the presidential average, and Trump exceeds Obama by another 20 per cent.

Trump employs almost 50 per cent more first-person pronouns than the second most heavily self-referential president after Obama, Gerald Ford. Trump&rsquo;s rhetoric is twice as self-referential as the postwar presidential average.

<iframe class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" frameborder="0" height="400px" id="3lX9O" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3lX9O/5/" style="border: none" width="100%"></iframe>

Second, both Trump and Obama rank very high on measures of &ldquo;tenacity.&rdquo; This dictionary includes a series of words such as &ldquo;must&rdquo; and &ldquo;need&rdquo; that call for action and that &ldquo;<a href="http://www.dictionsoftware.com/download.php?file=wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DICTION-7.1Manual.pdf">connote confidence and totality</a>.&rdquo; Obama&rsquo;s rhetoric is around 45 per cent more tenacious than the presidential average. Trump&rsquo;s rhetoric is a bit more tenacious than even Obama&rsquo;s. They are the only two presidents who substantially exceed the average.

<iframe class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" frameborder="0" height="400px" id="daCou" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/daCou/5/" style="border: none" width="100%"></iframe>

Obama and Trump&rsquo;s rhetoric suggests that the prime mover of government is not separation of powers, political parties or the bureaucracy &ndash; but the will of the president. It&#39;s self-referentialism projects an image of strong leadership and of the president as the central pivot of action. Its tenacity expresses confidence that the president will triumph over the many obstacles in his way.

For all their differences, both Obama and Trump consistently presented themselves as the solution to the nation&rsquo;s problems. Accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention, <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=117935">Trump assured Americans</a>, &ldquo;Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.&rdquo; He regularly cited his own biography as the reason that Americans should &ldquo;trust&rdquo; him. The irony is that the predecessor who, on this dimension, most resembles Trump is the very one whom Trump cast as an utter failure and weak leader and as his chief foil. Obama too <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2016/12/15/the-self-referential-presidency-of-barack-obama/?utm_term=.6c6681297ce0">regularly invoked his unique personal story</a> as the reason that Americans should place their faith in him. Minus Trump&rsquo;s boastfulness, Obama too portrayed himself as the key agent of national transformation: &ldquo;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/17/AR2009011702690_2.html?tid=a_inl&amp;sid=ST2009011703024">I&rsquo;m the one who brings change. It is my vision. It is my agenda</a>,&rdquo; he told The Washington Post in January 2009. He saw other government officials as just &ldquo;good mechanics.&rdquo;

Yearning for a strong leader

The computerized content analysis of presidential rhetoric sets out a pattern, it does not explain it. However, we believe it likely that Obama and Trump adopted the same rhetorical tack for the same reason: Audiences across the political spectrum have craved a strong leader who will overcome Washington&rsquo;s paralysis and address the nation&rsquo;s challenges.

Especially since 9/11, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/22/key-facts-partisanship/">American politics has grown more partisan</a> and polarized, even as <a href="https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/publications/culture-war-myth-polarized-america-3rd-edition">Americans&rsquo; values</a> <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115909">have converged</a>. That <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/america-really-is-more-divided-than-ever/2016/07/17/fbfebee6-49d8-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html?utm_term=.37a37dac7de8">partisan divide</a> has produced gridlock in the halls of power, and Congress has become a site of minority party obstruction. As a result, <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/163031/gridlock-top-reason-americans-critical-congress.aspx">Americans have become frustrated</a> <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx">with Congress</a>, and <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/5392/trust-government.aspx">their trust in government has plummeted</a>. They have increasingly looked to the president to seize the initiative, conquer Washington&rsquo;s dysfunction and <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9781107083134">persuade Congress to act</a>.

In 2007, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/27085/wanted-next-president-honesty-strong-leadership.aspx">honesty</a>&rdquo; mattered most to Americans in selecting the nation&rsquo;s next president, with &ldquo;leadership/strength&rdquo; a distant second. In 2012, American voters said that &ldquo;<a href="https://morningconsult.com/2016/11/08/voters-want-strong-leader-anything-else-exit-poll-shows/">shares my values</a>&rdquo; was their top consideration in electing a president. By 2016, having a president who was a &ldquo;strong leader&rdquo; had easily taken the top spot, across voters of all parties, and was twice as important to them as it had been four years before.

Obama and Trump&rsquo;s self-referential and tenacious rhetoric &ndash; one might even call it authoritarian &ndash; seems designed to satisfy that demand for strong leadership centered in the presidency. It is not accidental that their rhetoric, <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7U5Wc80jx5leUhYRXFYemlWc3c">as the linked charts show</a>, also reflects a continued, long-term decline in &ldquo;cooperative&rdquo; and &ldquo;accomplishment&rdquo; language, as collaboration across party lines has been rare and as there have been few achievements. Ironically, &ldquo;satisfaction&rdquo; rhetoric has experienced a corresponding rise &ndash; perhaps because there has been less to celebrate and therefore more reason for presidents to proclaim that all is well.

Of course, some of this may be Donald Trump&rsquo;s inimitable rhetorical style. The figures above reveal that Trump&nbsp;the candidate was somewhat less self-referential and less tenacious than Trump the president has been. Perhaps he was simply restraining himself during the campaign. Once ensconced in the White House, he could become more himself. Trump the president may be Trump unleashed.

But the data suggest that Trump is also a manifestation &ndash; albeit an extreme manifestation &ndash; of our political age. Obama&rsquo;s self-centered, self-confident but soaring speeches gave way to his successor&rsquo;s self-centered, overconfident and vain tweets. Karl Marx knew what he was talking about: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eighteenth_Brumaire_of_Louis_Napoleon#.22History_repeats_..._first_as_tragedy.2C_then_as_farce.22">History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce</a>.

Nevertheless, we&rsquo;d better get used to authoritarian rhetoric. It appears to be here to stay.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-and-obama-have-one-surprising-thing-in-common-the-words-they-use-81309">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Obama?s self-centered, self-confident but soaring speeches gave way to his successor?s self-centered, overconfident and vain tweets.

By - Ronald R. Krebs and Robert Ralston Six months have passed since Donald Trump entered the Oval Office. His administration remains deeply understaffed. His legislative agenda is stymied. He has been active in issuing executive orders, but many are toothless, others are only in the early stages of undoing Obama policies and some are tied up in the courts. So far, Trump’s leadership has mostly been defined by his rhetoric. And his rhetoric, the conventional wisdom holds, could not be more different from his predecessor’s. Barack Obama was, as president, eloquent. His language was sophisticated. He spoke in measured tones and advanced informed, reasoned dialogue. Donald Trump is inarticulate and brusque. His language is simplistic. He dishes out invective. He shows so little regard for the facts that some say he’s the exemplar of a “bullshit artist.” And he promotes a dialogue of the deaf. The differences between Trump’s and Obama’s rhetorical styles seem stark. Yet, when we set aside the presidents’ speaking styles and looked more carefully at the specific words Trump employed in his first months in office, we were surprised to discover that, in certain ways, these two presidents are remarkably like each other and unlike their predecessors. Here’s what we found – and why Obama and Trump have more in common than you would think. How we did our research Our analysis is based on Trump’s more substantial speeches – which we somewhat arbitrarily define as those longer than 500 words – which were directed primarily at domestic audiences. We scraped from the website of the American Presidency Project all of Trump’s campaign speeches and presidential addresses through July 1 that met these criteria. We ended up with 74 campaign speeches, representing more than 230,000 words, and 56 presidential addresses, which included more than 122,000 words. We compared these bodies of speech to each other and to a separate database of post-war presidential speech that one of us had collected, using these same criteria, for a recently published book. We ran these speeches through a specialized computerized content analysis program called Diction. Diction contains 33 separate dictionaries tailored to political speech. It searches texts for the words contained in the designated dictionaries and then calculates the number of words from each dictionary that would be present in a typical 500-word sample. Obama and Trump vs. everyone else On two key dimensions, Obama and Trump look similar – and stand in marked contrast to all other presidents. First, their rhetoric is much more self-referential, meaning it uses more first-person pronouns. Obama’s rhetoric is 69 per cent more self-referential than the presidential average, and Trump exceeds Obama by another 20 per cent. Trump employs almost 50 per cent more first-person pronouns than the second most heavily self-referential president after Obama, Gerald Ford. Trump’s rhetoric is twice as self-referential as the postwar presidential average. Second, both Trump and Obama rank very high on measures of “tenacity.” This dictionary includes a series of words such as “must” and “need” that call for action and that “connote confidence and totality.” Obama’s rhetoric is around 45 per cent more tenacious than the presidential average. Trump’s rhetoric is a bit more tenacious than even Obama’s. They are the only two presidents who substantially exceed the average. Obama and Trump’s rhetoric suggests that the prime mover of government is not separation of powers, political parties or the bureaucracy – but the will of the president. It's self-referentialism projects an image of strong leadership and of the president as the central pivot of action. Its tenacity expresses confidence that the president will triumph over the many obstacles in his way. For all their differences, both Obama and Trump consistently presented themselves as the solution to the nation’s problems. Accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention, Trump assured Americans, “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.” He regularly cited his own biography as the reason that Americans should “trust” him. The irony is that the predecessor who, on this dimension, most resembles Trump is the very one whom Trump cast as an utter failure and weak leader and as his chief foil. Obama too regularly invoked his unique personal story as the reason that Americans should place their faith in him. Minus Trump’s boastfulness, Obama too portrayed himself as the key agent of national transformation: “I’m the one who brings change. It is my vision. It is my agenda,” he told The Washington Post in January 2009. He saw other government officials as just “good mechanics.” Yearning for a strong leader The computerized content analysis of presidential rhetoric sets out a pattern, it does not explain it. However, we believe it likely that Obama and Trump adopted the same rhetorical tack for the same reason: Audiences across the political spectrum have craved a strong leader who will overcome Washington’s paralysis and address the nation’s challenges. Especially since 9/11, American politics has grown more partisan and polarized, even as Americans’ values have converged. That partisan divide has produced gridlock in the halls of power, and Congress has become a site of minority party obstruction. As a result, Americans have become frustrated with Congress, and their trust in government has plummeted. They have increasingly looked to the president to seize the initiative, conquer Washington’s dysfunction and persuade Congress to act. In 2007, “honesty” mattered most to Americans in selecting the nation’s next president, with “leadership/strength” a distant second. In 2012, American voters said that “shares my values” was their top consideration in electing a president. By 2016, having a president who was a “strong leader” had easily taken the top spot, across voters of all parties, and was twice as important to them as it had been four years before. Obama and Trump’s self-referential and tenacious rhetoric – one might even call it authoritarian – seems designed to satisfy that demand for strong leadership centered in the presidency. It is not accidental that their rhetoric, as the linked charts show, also reflects a continued, long-term decline in “cooperative” and “accomplishment” language, as collaboration across party lines has been rare and as there have been few achievements. Ironically, “satisfaction” rhetoric has experienced a corresponding rise – perhaps because there has been less to celebrate and therefore more reason for presidents to proclaim that all is well. Of course, some of this may be Donald Trump’s inimitable rhetorical style. The figures above reveal that Trump the candidate was somewhat less self-referential and less tenacious than Trump the president has been. Perhaps he was simply restraining himself during the campaign. Once ensconced in the White House, he could become more himself. Trump the president may be Trump unleashed. But the data suggest that Trump is also a manifestation – albeit an extreme manifestation – of our political age. Obama’s self-centered, self-confident but soaring speeches gave way to his successor’s self-centered, overconfident and vain tweets. Karl Marx knew what he was talking about: History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Nevertheless, we’d better get used to authoritarian rhetoric. It appears to be here to stay. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

One surprising thing in common between Trump and Obama

The federal probe into the Russian meddling in the US elections led by special counsel &nbsp;Robert Mueller is gathering pace with the naming of a grand jury to examine the veracity of the evidence against the Trump campaign officials being in touch with Russia to favour a Trump victory.

According to US media reports, the grand jury has issued subpoenas related to a meeting that Donald Trump&#39;s son Trump Jr and son-in-law <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/jared-kushner-sought-secret-communications-line-with-russia-report-16095">Jared Kushner held last year with a Russian attorney</a> who had promised incriminating material&nbsp;against Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump has lashed out at the move saying that the 2016 <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/russia-probe-greatest-witch-hunt-in-american-political-history-trump-15753">Russian interference story is a &quot;total fabrication&quot;</a>.

&quot;We didn&#39;t win because of Russia. We won because of you,&quot; Trump said at a campaign-style rally in West Virginia.

The setting up of a grand jury is a significant development in the probe as it could lead to criminal indictments.

&quot;It&#39;s a significant escalation of the process,&quot; national security attorney Bradley Moss told AFP.&nbsp;

&quot;You don&#39;t impanel a grand jury unless your investigation has discovered enough evidence that you feel reflects a violation of at least one, if not more, criminal provisions,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was not likely the subject of the investigation, AFP reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

Donald Trump has lashed out at the move saying that the 2016 Russian interference story is a 'total fabrication'

The federal probe into the Russian meddling in the US elections led by special counsel Robert Mueller is gathering pace with the naming of a grand jury to examine the veracity of the evidence against the Trump campaign officials being in touch with Russia to favour a Trump victory. According to US media reports, the grand jury has issued subpoenas related to a meeting that Donald Trump's son Trump Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner held last year with a Russian attorney who had promised incriminating material against Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump has lashed out at the move saying that the 2016 Russian interference story is a "total fabrication". "We didn't win because of Russia. We won because of you," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in West Virginia. The setting up of a grand jury is a significant development in the probe as it could lead to criminal indictments. "It's a significant escalation of the process," national security attorney Bradley Moss told AFP. "You don't impanel a grand jury unless your investigation has discovered enough evidence that you feel reflects a violation of at least one, if not more, criminal provisions," he said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was not likely the subject of the investigation, AFP reported. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump-Russia probe: Grand jury set up, subpoenas issued

US President Donald Trump said relations with Russia had hit an all-time and &quot;very dangerous&quot; low Thursday, putting the blame on Congress after he reluctantly approved sanctions against Moscow. 
 
&quot;Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time &amp; very dangerous low,&quot; Trump wrote on Twitter.

&quot;You can thank Congress, the same people that can&#39;t even give us HCare!&quot;, he added in reference to a recent defeat in the Senate on his health care reform plans.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time &amp; very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can&#39;t even give us HCare!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/893083735633129472">August 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump&#39;s outburst came the day after he grudgingly signed off on a sanctions bill that had been passed by Congress, calling the legislation &quot;significantly flawed&quot; and arguing that some of its provisions were unconstitutional. 
 
The legislation -- which also includes measures against North Korea and Iran -- targets the Russian energy sector, giving Washington the ability to sanction companies involved in developing Russian pipelines, and placing curbs on some Russian weapons exporters. 
 
It also constrains Trump`s ability to waive the penalties, a statement of mistrust from the Republican-controlled Congress. 
 
Moscow has reacted furiously to the sanctions, with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying they amounted to a &quot;full-fledged economic war&quot; and that they had demonstrated Trump`s &quot;total weakness.&quot; 
 
Trump&#39;s presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that his campaign team colluded with Moscow during last year`s US presidential campaign in which he defeated Hillary Clinton.

 
&nbsp;

Trump's outburst came the day after he grudgingly signed off on a sanctions bill that had been passed by Congress

US President Donald Trump said relations with Russia had hit an all-time and "very dangerous" low Thursday, putting the blame on Congress after he reluctantly approved sanctions against Moscow. "Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low," Trump wrote on Twitter. "You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare!", he added in reference to a recent defeat in the Senate on his health care reform plans. Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2017 × Trump's outburst came the day after he grudgingly signed off on a sanctions bill that had been passed by Congress, calling the legislation "significantly flawed" and arguing that some of its provisions were unconstitutional. The legislation -- which also includes measures against North Korea and Iran -- targets the Russian energy sector, giving Washington the ability to sanction companies involved in developing Russian pipelines, and placing curbs on some Russian weapons exporters. It also constrains Trump`s ability to waive the penalties, a statement of mistrust from the Republican-controlled Congress. Moscow has reacted furiously to the sanctions, with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying they amounted to a "full-fledged economic war" and that they had demonstrated Trump`s "total weakness." Trump's presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that his campaign team colluded with Moscow during last year`s US presidential campaign in which he defeated Hillary Clinton.

Russia ties at all-time and 'very dangerous low', laments President Trump

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged on Tuesday that he and President Donald Trump disagree over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and said the two men discuss how to use the international agreement to advance administration policies.

Trump at times vowed during the 2016 presidential election campaign to withdraw from the agreement, which was signed by the United States, Russia, China and three European powers to curb Iran&#39;s nuclear program in return for lifting most Western sanctions.

Trump has preserved the deal for now, although he has made clear he did so reluctantly after being advised to do so by Tillerson.

&quot;He and I have differences of views on things like JCPOA, and how we should use it,&quot; Tillerson said at a State Department briefing, using the acronym for the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Tillerson said that Washington could &quot;tear it up and walk away&quot; or stay in the deal and hold Iran accountable to its terms, which he said would require Iran to act as a &quot;good neighbor.&quot;

Critics say the deal falls short in addressing Iran&#39;s support for foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, arms shipments around the Middle East and ballistic missile tests.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tillerson&#39;s remarks.

Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month that he predicts Iran will be judged &quot;noncompliant&quot; with the Iran deal at the next deadline in October, and that he would have preferred to do so months ago.

Tillerson expressed a more nuanced view of the deal&#39;s potential benefits on Tuesday.

&quot;There are a lot of alternative means with which we use the agreement to advance our policies and the relationship with Iran, and that&#39;s what the conversation generally is around with the president as well,&quot; Tillerson said.

European officials would likely be reluctant to reimpose sanctions, especially the broader measures that helped drive Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program in the first place.

New US&nbsp;sanctions on Iran in July were a breach of the nuclear deal and Tehran had lodged a complaint with the body that oversees the pact&#39;s implementation, a senior Iranian politician said.

Tillerson acknowledged that the United States is limited in how much it can pressure Iran on its own and said it was important to coordinate with the other parties to the agreement.

&quot;The greatest pressure we can put to bear on Iran to change the behavior is a collective pressure,&quot; he said.

'He and I have differences of views on things like JCPOA, and how we should use it,' Tillerson said at a State Department briefing, using the acronym for the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged on Tuesday that he and President Donald Trump disagree over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and said the two men discuss how to use the international agreement to advance administration policies. Trump at times vowed during the 2016 presidential election campaign to withdraw from the agreement, which was signed by the United States, Russia, China and three European powers to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for lifting most Western sanctions. Trump has preserved the deal for now, although he has made clear he did so reluctantly after being advised to do so by Tillerson. "He and I have differences of views on things like JCPOA, and how we should use it," Tillerson said at a State Department briefing, using the acronym for the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Tillerson said that Washington could "tear it up and walk away" or stay in the deal and hold Iran accountable to its terms, which he said would require Iran to act as a "good neighbor." Critics say the deal falls short in addressing Iran's support for foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, arms shipments around the Middle East and ballistic missile tests. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tillerson's remarks. Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month that he predicts Iran will be judged "noncompliant" with the Iran deal at the next deadline in October, and that he would have preferred to do so months ago. Tillerson expressed a more nuanced view of the deal's potential benefits on Tuesday. "There are a lot of alternative means with which we use the agreement to advance our policies and the relationship with Iran, and that's what the conversation generally is around with the president as well," Tillerson said. European officials would likely be reluctant to reimpose sanctions, especially the broader measures that helped drive Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program in the first place. New US sanctions on Iran in July were a breach of the nuclear deal and Tehran had lodged a complaint with the body that oversees the pact's implementation, a senior Iranian politician said. Tillerson acknowledged that the United States is limited in how much it can pressure Iran on its own and said it was important to coordinate with the other parties to the agreement. "The greatest pressure we can put to bear on Iran to change the behavior is a collective pressure," he said.

Trump and I disagree on Iran nuclear deal: Tillerson

A Republican senator said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump has told him he would go to war to destroy North Korea rather than allow it to develop a long-range nuclear-armed missile.

Influential lawmaker Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk, told NBC&#39;s Today Show: &quot;There is a military option: To destroy North Korea&#39;s program and North Korea itself.&quot;

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un boasted that his country could now strike any target in the United States after carrying out its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test.

World powers have been trying to stifle Pyongyang&#39;s weapons program through United Nations-backed sanctions, but have failed to daunt the regime and Washington is growing frustrated.

Graham said that if diplomacy, and in particular pressure from the North&#39;s neighbor China, fails to halt the program then the United States will have no choice but to take devastating military action.

&quot;They&#39;ve kicked the can down the road for 20 years. There will be a war with North Korea over the missile program if they continue to try to hit America with an ICBM,&quot; he said, describing his discussions with Trump.&nbsp;

&quot;He&#39;s told me that. I believe him. If I were China, I would believe him, too, and do something about it. You can stop North Korea, militarily or diplomatically.&nbsp;

&quot;I prefer the diplomatic approach. But they will not be allowed to have a missile to hit America with a nuclear weapon on top.&quot;

Influential lawmaker Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk said that Donald Trump has told him he would go to war to destroy North Korea rather than allow it to develop a long-range nuclear-armed missile

A Republican senator said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump has told him he would go to war to destroy North Korea rather than allow it to develop a long-range nuclear-armed missile. Influential lawmaker Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk, told NBC's Today Show: "There is a military option: To destroy North Korea's program and North Korea itself." Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un boasted that his country could now strike any target in the United States after carrying out its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test. World powers have been trying to stifle Pyongyang's weapons program through United Nations-backed sanctions, but have failed to daunt the regime and Washington is growing frustrated. Graham said that if diplomacy, and in particular pressure from the North's neighbor China, fails to halt the program then the United States will have no choice but to take devastating military action. "They've kicked the can down the road for 20 years. There will be a war with North Korea over the missile program if they continue to try to hit America with an ICBM," he said, describing his discussions with Trump. "He's told me that. I believe him. If I were China, I would believe him, too, and do something about it. You can stop North Korea, militarily or diplomatically. "I prefer the diplomatic approach. But they will not be allowed to have a missile to hit America with a nuclear weapon on top."

US senator says Trump ready for war with North Korea

If President Donald Trump, who refers to the media as &quot;fake news,&quot; wants his staff to use a more conciliatory approach with journalists, new communications director Anthony Scaramucci may be implementing such a shift - for now.

The Wall Street financier and Republican fundraiser walked into the White House briefing room on Friday and immediately did what Sean Spicer, the outgoing press secretary, did not do on his first day in January: engage, in a friendly manner, with reporters.

Wearing a blue tie and an American flag pin on a dark suit, Scaramucci bantered with correspondents, pledged to be transparent and even made respectful remarks about CNN, the cable network with which Trump and Spicer have sparred repeatedly.

He made fun of himself, joking about his short stature and apologising to Trump from the podium for having called the New York businessman a hack politician in 2015.

&quot;He brings it up every 15 seconds, all right?&quot; Scaramucci said to laughter, referring to the president. &quot;I should have never said that about him. So, Mr. President, if you&#39;re listening, I personally apologise for the 50th time for saying that.&quot;

Trump was probably listening.

Reporters peppered Scaramucci with questions on press-related issues that have dogged the relationship between the Trump presidency and the journalists that cover it.

Did he support having briefings televised? &quot;I obviously am committed to being transparent because I&rsquo;m standing here. But I&rsquo;d like to talk that over with the president,&quot; he said.

He noted that CNN had apologised when it reported something false about him and that he had accepted the apology.

&quot;There feels like there&rsquo;s a little bit of media bias, and so what we hope we can do is de-escalate that and turn that around. And let&#39;s let the message from the president get out there to the American people,&quot; he said.

He announced the new press secretary to take over from Spicer, who resigned earlier on Friday, would be Sarah Sanders.

Spicer&#39;s debut at the White House podium in January featured a long scolding of reporters for their portrayal of Trump&#39;s Inauguration Day crowd numbers.

Asked on Friday whether he agreed with Trump&#39;s contention, for which there is no evidence, that 3 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election, Scaramucci answered carefully.

&quot;So if the president says it, let me do more research on it, but my guess is that there&rsquo;s probably some level of truth to that,&quot; he said.

&quot;I think what we have found sometimes the president says stuff, some of you guys in the media think it&rsquo;s not true or it isn&rsquo;t true, and it turns out it&rsquo;s closer to the truth than people think.&quot;

Trump's new communications director apologised to Trump from the podium for having called the New York businessman a hack politician in 2015

If President Donald Trump, who refers to the media as "fake news," wants his staff to use a more conciliatory approach with journalists, new communications director Anthony Scaramucci may be implementing such a shift - for now. The Wall Street financier and Republican fundraiser walked into the White House briefing room on Friday and immediately did what Sean Spicer, the outgoing press secretary, did not do on his first day in January: engage, in a friendly manner, with reporters. Wearing a blue tie and an American flag pin on a dark suit, Scaramucci bantered with correspondents, pledged to be transparent and even made respectful remarks about CNN, the cable network with which Trump and Spicer have sparred repeatedly. He made fun of himself, joking about his short stature and apologising to Trump from the podium for having called the New York businessman a hack politician in 2015. "He brings it up every 15 seconds, all right?" Scaramucci said to laughter, referring to the president. "I should have never said that about him. So, Mr. President, if you're listening, I personally apologise for the 50th time for saying that." Trump was probably listening. Reporters peppered Scaramucci with questions on press-related issues that have dogged the relationship between the Trump presidency and the journalists that cover it. Did he support having briefings televised? "I obviously am committed to being transparent because I’m standing here. But I’d like to talk that over with the president," he said. He noted that CNN had apologised when it reported something false about him and that he had accepted the apology. "There feels like there’s a little bit of media bias, and so what we hope we can do is de-escalate that and turn that around. And let's let the message from the president get out there to the American people," he said. He announced the new press secretary to take over from Spicer, who resigned earlier on Friday, would be Sarah Sanders. Spicer's debut at the White House podium in January featured a long scolding of reporters for their portrayal of Trump's Inauguration Day crowd numbers. Asked on Friday whether he agreed with Trump's contention, for which there is no evidence, that 3 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election, Scaramucci answered carefully. "So if the president says it, let me do more research on it, but my guess is that there’s probably some level of truth to that," he said. "I think what we have found sometimes the president says stuff, some of you guys in the media think it’s not true or it isn’t true, and it turns out it’s closer to the truth than people think."

Trump's new hire Scaramucci apologises for calling him 'hack politician'

As news of Donald Trump&rsquo;s victory in last November&rsquo;s US presidential election&nbsp;spread around the world, delegates at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference were meeting to discuss implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement.&nbsp;The man widely credited with playing a pivotal role in securing that landmark deal in the French capital was US President Barack Obama.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;It was a combination of the United States and China that ultimately got that deal through. You had to get 200 countries to go along with this agreement, and the approach the US came up with was the one that was ultimately successful,&rdquo; said Ken Berlin, CEO of the Climate Reality Project, an environmental NGO based in Washington, DC.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The outgoing president&rsquo;s commitment to fighting climate change has formed a key part of his domestic agenda and will undoubtedly shape his legacy.&nbsp;According to figures from the White House, Obama&rsquo;s administration has cut US carbon emissions by 9 per cent&nbsp;since he took office in 2009. In the same period, the US economy grew by more than 10 per cent.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
But many Democrat supporters and environmentalists now fear Obama&rsquo;s work could be torpedoed by his successor.&nbsp;During the presidential campaign, a tweet expressing scepticism over climate change surfaced on Donald Trump&rsquo;s official Twitter account.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive,&rdquo; Trump tweeted in November 2012.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Recently, the UK&rsquo;s climate change minister, Nick Hurd, called the US President-elect a &ldquo;very big challenge&rdquo; to efforts to control global temperature rises.&nbsp;Senior members of Trump&rsquo;s team like Jeff Sessions and Ben Carson are also openly sceptical about climate change.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;I know there are a lot of people who say &lsquo;overwhelming science&rsquo;, but then when you ask them to show the overwhelming science, they never can show it,&rdquo; Mr Carson, the President-elect&rsquo;s pick for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2015.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Although fearful about Trump&rsquo;s future climate change policy, environmentalists say the new administration&rsquo;s impact on falling carbon emissions in the US could be limited in the short term.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;Overall, if you take into account federal, state and local governments and business, we will still continue to make progress in reducing carbon emissions in the United States. It will be a slower pace than if Hillary Clinton had won, but the environmental community here is gearing up for what might be the fight of our lives,&rdquo; said Mr Berlin.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Even if Trump does not do what many fear and pull out of the Paris deal immediately, what he does in 2020 could be just as crucial. Under the terms of the Paris climate change deal, countries must set five-year targets or &ldquo;national determined contributions&rdquo;. By 2020, the US will need to ramp up its efforts to cut emissions once again in order to meet its commitments.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
While Obama has been a leader on climate change policy across the world, a Trump White House could stall the Paris deal in its delicate early years.&nbsp;In the environmental community, the latest US election was billed as a showdown between Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s green credentials and Donald Trump&rsquo;s climate scepticism. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Scepticism prevailed in 2016. But environmentalists say the next time US voters go to the polls in 2020 could be the defining moment in the global battle against climate change.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
(WION)

US environmentalists highlight Obama?s climate change legacy, but fear a Trump presidency

As news of Donald Trump’s victory in last November’s US presidential election spread around the world, delegates at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference were meeting to discuss implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The man widely credited with playing a pivotal role in securing that landmark deal in the French capital was US President Barack Obama. “It was a combination of the United States and China that ultimately got that deal through. You had to get 200 countries to go along with this agreement, and the approach the US came up with was the one that was ultimately successful,” said Ken Berlin, CEO of the Climate Reality Project, an environmental NGO based in Washington, DC. The outgoing president’s commitment to fighting climate change has formed a key part of his domestic agenda and will undoubtedly shape his legacy. According to figures from the White House, Obama’s administration has cut US carbon emissions by 9 per cent since he took office in 2009. In the same period, the US economy grew by more than 10 per cent. But many Democrat supporters and environmentalists now fear Obama’s work could be torpedoed by his successor. During the presidential campaign, a tweet expressing scepticism over climate change surfaced on Donald Trump’s official Twitter account. “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive,” Trump tweeted in November 2012. Recently, the UK’s climate change minister, Nick Hurd, called the US President-elect a “very big challenge” to efforts to control global temperature rises. Senior members of Trump’s team like Jeff Sessions and Ben Carson are also openly sceptical about climate change. “I know there are a lot of people who say ‘overwhelming science’, but then when you ask them to show the overwhelming science, they never can show it,” Mr Carson, the President-elect’s pick for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2015. Although fearful about Trump’s future climate change policy, environmentalists say the new administration’s impact on falling carbon emissions in the US could be limited in the short term. “Overall, if you take into account federal, state and local governments and business, we will still continue to make progress in reducing carbon emissions in the United States. It will be a slower pace than if Hillary Clinton had won, but the environmental community here is gearing up for what might be the fight of our lives,” said Mr Berlin. Even if Trump does not do what many fear and pull out of the Paris deal immediately, what he does in 2020 could be just as crucial. Under the terms of the Paris climate change deal, countries must set five-year targets or “national determined contributions”. By 2020, the US will need to ramp up its efforts to cut emissions once again in order to meet its commitments. While Obama has been a leader on climate change policy across the world, a Trump White House could stall the Paris deal in its delicate early years. In the environmental community, the latest US election was billed as a showdown between Hillary Clinton’s green credentials and Donald Trump’s climate scepticism. Scepticism prevailed in 2016. But environmentalists say the next time US voters go to the polls in 2020 could be the defining moment in the global battle against climate change. (WION)

Political climate change

Nobody thought that the Trump White House was going to have an easy-going relationship with the press.

The media had exposed scandal after scandal during Trump&rsquo;s controversial but successful run for office. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against his treatment in the &ldquo;mainstream media.&rdquo;

&ldquo;You are fake news,&rdquo; he said to CNN&rsquo;s Jim Acosta during a heated exchange in his final press conference as President-Elect.

But what unfolded in the first statement by Trump&rsquo;s new Press Secretary last Saturday would have astonished even the most seasoned White House correspondents.

Sean Spicer, the man tasked with briefing journalists for the new US President, hit out at what he called &ldquo;deliberately false reporting&rdquo; about the crowd size at the presidential inauguration.

&ldquo;We know that 420,000 people used the D.C. Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for President Obama&#39;s last inaugural,&rdquo; said Spicer. He left the room after refusing to take any questions from the gathered reporters.

But these &ldquo;facts&rdquo; that the White House Press Secretary had used to defend the crowd sizes at the inauguration soon dissolved under scrutiny.

The official figures put ridership at around 570,000 for Trump and 782,000 for Obama&rsquo;s second swearing-in in 2013.

As the row intensified, Kellyanne Conway, Trump&rsquo;s senior counsellor, then refused to criticise Spicer&rsquo;s actions in a television interview the next morning.

&ldquo;Sean Spicer, our Press Secretary, gave alternative facts,&rdquo; said Conway in an interview with the US network, NBC.

The phrase sent Twitter into meltdown, with media watchers competing to come up with the best &ldquo;alternative fact.&rdquo;

&ldquo;&rsquo;It is not Monday. It is still the weekend. Period.&rsquo; #mondaymotivation #alternativefacts,&rdquo; tweeted one user.

But there is also a serious side to the Trump administration existing in a twilight zone where fact starts to blur with fiction.

At best, the brand new White House Press Secretary unknowingly briefed reporters with incorrect information.

The worst-case scenario could have serious consequences for Spicer&rsquo;s credibility, and by extension, that of his boss in the Oval Office.

Appearing in front of the press corps once again on Monday, Spicer admitted that &ldquo;the information available wasn&rsquo;t complete.&rdquo;

But the combative tone of the first briefing was still there: &ldquo;I think that over and over again, there is this attempt to go after this president and say, well, that can&rsquo;t be true and that&rsquo;s not right and the numbers weren&rsquo;t there. And there&rsquo;s a rush to judgement every time,&rdquo; he added.

And the row is showing no signs of going away. On Tuesday, Spicer confirmed that Trump believes 3 to 5 million voters took part illegally in the US election last November.

But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says he&rsquo;s seen &ldquo;no evidence&rdquo; to back up the claim.

Trump&rsquo;s team accuse the press corps of rushing to judgement too fast. But after a rocky start, journalists won&rsquo;t be rushing to make any decisions based on information provided by the new White House Press Secretary any time soon.&nbsp;

(This is the first of a weekly dispatch about Giles&#39; experiences reporting on the first 100 days of President Trump)

WION's Washington correspondent Giles Gibson describes the already tense relations between the press and the new administration

Nobody thought that the Trump White House was going to have an easy-going relationship with the press. The media had exposed scandal after scandal during Trump’s controversial but successful run for office. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against his treatment in the “mainstream media.” “You are fake news,” he said to CNN’s Jim Acosta during a heated exchange in his final press conference as President-Elect. But what unfolded in the first statement by Trump’s new Press Secretary last Saturday would have astonished even the most seasoned White House correspondents. Sean Spicer, the man tasked with briefing journalists for the new US President, hit out at what he called “deliberately false reporting” about the crowd size at the presidential inauguration. “We know that 420,000 people used the D.C. Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for President Obama's last inaugural,” said Spicer. He left the room after refusing to take any questions from the gathered reporters. But these “facts” that the White House Press Secretary had used to defend the crowd sizes at the inauguration soon dissolved under scrutiny. The official figures put ridership at around 570,000 for Trump and 782,000 for Obama’s second swearing-in in 2013. As the row intensified, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s senior counsellor, then refused to criticise Spicer’s actions in a television interview the next morning. “Sean Spicer, our Press Secretary, gave alternative facts,” said Conway in an interview with the US network, NBC. The phrase sent Twitter into meltdown, with media watchers competing to come up with the best “alternative fact.” “’It is not Monday. It is still the weekend. Period.’ #mondaymotivation #alternativefacts,” tweeted one user. But there is also a serious side to the Trump administration existing in a twilight zone where fact starts to blur with fiction. At best, the brand new White House Press Secretary unknowingly briefed reporters with incorrect information. The worst-case scenario could have serious consequences for Spicer’s credibility, and by extension, that of his boss in the Oval Office. Appearing in front of the press corps once again on Monday, Spicer admitted that “the information available wasn’t complete.” But the combative tone of the first briefing was still there: “I think that over and over again, there is this attempt to go after this president and say, well, that can’t be true and that’s not right and the numbers weren’t there. And there’s a rush to judgement every time,” he added. And the row is showing no signs of going away. On Tuesday, Spicer confirmed that Trump believes 3 to 5 million voters took part illegally in the US election last November. But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says he’s seen “no evidence” to back up the claim. Trump’s team accuse the press corps of rushing to judgement too fast. But after a rocky start, journalists won’t be rushing to make any decisions based on information provided by the new White House Press Secretary any time soon. (This is the first of a weekly dispatch about Giles' experiences reporting on the first 100 days of President Trump)

Truth in the Trump era

An angry President Donald Trump railed Tuesday against dissenters in his party who dashed his months-long effort to dismantle Barack Obama&#39;s landmark health care law.

Trump fired off a series of early morning tweets complaining about how he was &quot;let down&quot; by Democrats &quot;and a few Republicans,&quot; who announced their opposition the previous night to the latest leadership plan to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

With four Republicans now lined up against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell&#39;s health overhaul, the plan has flatlined in the 100-member chamber, where the party could afford only two defectors in order to get the measure passed.&nbsp;

The dramatic implosion effectively means Trump, who marks his first six months in office later this week, has no major legislative victory under his belt, squandering months of political capital.

Trump had campaigned relentlessly on a pledge to abolish most of the Affordable Care Act, proclaiming at an October campaign rally that it would be &quot;so easy&quot; to immediately repeal and replace the law.

But on Monday night he ran into the uncompromising reality of American politics: even with a president&#39;s party enjoying a majority in both chambers, crafting and passing landmark legislation can be difficult in the US Congress.

The failure suggests an inability by Trump -- a political neophyte who often highlighted his lack of connections to establishment Washington -- to get members of his own party to fall into line.

Nevertheless Trump put on a brave face, insisting on Twitter that &quot;we will return!&quot;

&quot;As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned,&quot; he added.

&nbsp;

&#39;Time to start over&#39;

McConnell was by no means giving up. He told colleagues Tuesday that despite &quot;regret&quot; that&nbsp;the effort failed, &quot;I believe we must continue to push forward now&quot;.

In the coming days, McConnell will introduce a bill that repeals Obamacare outright, but with a two-year delay of implementation, in order to allow Congress time to craft a replacement.

A straight repeal bill passed Congress in 2015. But that was during Obama&#39;s presidency, and Republicans knew they would pay no political price for their votes, as Obama vetoed the measure.

Trump would likely sign such legislation, putting Republicans on the hook for any ensuing disruption to the health care system.

Two years ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned that simply repealing Obamacare would essentially kick 18 million people off health care in the first year compared to current law, a figure that would balloon to 32 million by 2026. That is far above the 22 million that CBO forecast would lose coverage under the latest repeal-and-replace legislation.

Nevertheless, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday he and Trump &quot;fully support&quot; McConnell&#39;s decision to move ahead with an Obamacare repeal.

But with a number of Senate Republican moderates voicing concern about how the latest bill could adversely impact millions of people insured through Medicaid, the health coverage program for the poor and the disabled, it appeared unlikely that McConnell&#39;s repeal bid would win enough support.

&quot;I can not vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians,&quot; Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose chamber passed its own health reform bill in May, appeared to recognise the quandary the Senate was in, but stressed the commitment Republicans have made to voters over the past seven years. &quot;We&#39;ve got a promise to keep,&quot; he told reporters.

But Ryan hesitated to map out the way forward, because it remained unclear what repeal effort, if any, could pass the Senate.&nbsp;

While Democrats celebrated, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer extended an olive branch to his Republican rivals. &quot;It&#39;s time to move on. It&#39;s time to start over&quot; on health care, he said.

Schumer called on Republicans to &quot;work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides longterm stability to the markets and improve our health care system.&quot;

 
&nbsp;

Trump complained about how he was 'let down' by Democrats 'and a few Republicans' who opposed the latest Republican effort to repeal Obamacare

An angry President Donald Trump railed Tuesday against dissenters in his party who dashed his months-long effort to dismantle Barack Obama's landmark health care law. Trump fired off a series of early morning tweets complaining about how he was "let down" by Democrats "and a few Republicans," who announced their opposition the previous night to the latest leadership plan to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. With four Republicans now lined up against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's health overhaul, the plan has flatlined in the 100-member chamber, where the party could afford only two defectors in order to get the measure passed. The dramatic implosion effectively means Trump, who marks his first six months in office later this week, has no major legislative victory under his belt, squandering months of political capital. Trump had campaigned relentlessly on a pledge to abolish most of the Affordable Care Act, proclaiming at an October campaign rally that it would be "so easy" to immediately repeal and replace the law. But on Monday night he ran into the uncompromising reality of American politics: even with a president's party enjoying a majority in both chambers, crafting and passing landmark legislation can be difficult in the US Congress. The failure suggests an inability by Trump -- a political neophyte who often highlighted his lack of connections to establishment Washington -- to get members of his own party to fall into line. Nevertheless Trump put on a brave face, insisting on Twitter that "we will return!" "As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned," he added. 'Time to start over' McConnell was by no means giving up. He told colleagues Tuesday that despite "regret" that the effort failed, "I believe we must continue to push forward now". In the coming days, McConnell will introduce a bill that repeals Obamacare outright, but with a two-year delay of implementation, in order to allow Congress time to craft a replacement. A straight repeal bill passed Congress in 2015. But that was during Obama's presidency, and Republicans knew they would pay no political price for their votes, as Obama vetoed the measure. Trump would likely sign such legislation, putting Republicans on the hook for any ensuing disruption to the health care system. Two years ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned that simply repealing Obamacare would essentially kick 18 million people off health care in the first year compared to current law, a figure that would balloon to 32 million by 2026. That is far above the 22 million that CBO forecast would lose coverage under the latest repeal-and-replace legislation. Nevertheless, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday he and Trump "fully support" McConnell's decision to move ahead with an Obamacare repeal. But with a number of Senate Republican moderates voicing concern about how the latest bill could adversely impact millions of people insured through Medicaid, the health coverage program for the poor and the disabled, it appeared unlikely that McConnell's repeal bid would win enough support. "I can not vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians," Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement. House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose chamber passed its own health reform bill in May, appeared to recognise the quandary the Senate was in, but stressed the commitment Republicans have made to voters over the past seven years. "We've got a promise to keep," he told reporters. But Ryan hesitated to map out the way forward, because it remained unclear what repeal effort, if any, could pass the Senate. While Democrats celebrated, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer extended an olive branch to his Republican rivals. "It's time to move on. It's time to start over" on health care, he said. Schumer called on Republicans to "work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides longterm stability to the markets and improve our health care system."

'Let ObamaCare fail,' Trump fumes as health bill collapses

The US government cleared the way on Monday for thousands more foreign workers to enter the country under temporary seasonal visas,&nbsp;just as President Donald Trump declared this &quot;Made In America&quot; week and pledged to stand up for US workers.

Advocates of stricter limits on immigration criticised the additional visas,&nbsp;saying American workers should get job openings.

Trump,&nbsp;a former New York real estate magnate who has relied on seasonal workers at his hotels and resorts, campaigned on promises to restore American jobs. On Monday, he showcased &quot;Made in America&quot; products at the White House and made an impassioned defence of America First policies.

&quot;We&#39;re going to stand up for our companies and maybe most importantly for our workers,&quot; the Republican president said. &quot;Clearly it&#39;s time for a new policy, one defined by two simple rules: We will buy American. And we will hire American.&quot;

Federal officials said there were not enough qualified and willing American workers available to perform certain types of temporary nonagricultural work.

As a result, the government will allow 15,000 additional visas for temporary seasonal workers, meant to help American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm because of a shortage of such labour, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

&quot;As a demonstration of the administration&#39;s commitment to supporting American businesses, DHS is providing this one-time increase to the congressionally set annual cap,&quot; Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said in a statement.

Many seasonal businesses such as resorts, landscaping companies and seafood harvesters and processors had sought permission to temporarily hire more immigrants.&nbsp;

Congress originally set the cap at 66,000 workers for the fiscal year ending September 30. In May, lawmakers gave Kelly authority to approve up to an additional 70,000 temporary visas and pleaded with him to use his authority to issue as many of them as he thought appropriate.

Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a group that supports immigration controls, said in a statement the decision &quot;threatens to reverse the trend of reports emerging around the country of employers working harder and raising pay to successfully recruit more unemployed Americans for lower-skilled jobs.&quot;

Beck said it was &quot;yet another example of the administration and Congress failing to keep the Trump campaign promise of putting American workers first.&quot;

Minimal relief granted

Trump campaigned on an &quot;America First&quot; platform of favouring Americans for hiring. Trump&#39;s golf resorts in Florida have used the visas, however, to hire temporary guest workers.

The clothing line of the president&#39;s older daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, uses foreign factories employing low-wage workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and China, a recent Washington Post report showed.

A group of US companies that use the visas, called the &quot;the H-2B Workforce Coalition,&quot; praised the &quot;minimal relief granted.&quot;

It said: &quot;From landscapers in Colorado to innkeepers in Maine to seafood processors along the Gulf Coast to carnivals nationwide, we hope the visa expansion will help some businesses avoid substantial financial loss, and in some cases, prevent early business closures during their peak season.&quot;

A report on Monday by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, found, however, there was little evidence of worker shortages in H-2B jobs at the national level.

&ldquo;Expanding the H-2B programme without reforming it to improve protections and increase wages for migrant workers will essentially allow unscrupulous employers to carve out an even larger rights-free zone in the low-wage labour market,&rdquo; said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the institute.

Kelly has acknowledged that many temporary workers &quot;are victimised when they come up here, in terms of what they&rsquo;re paid.&quot;

DHS said the government had created a tip line to report any abuse of the visas or employer violations.

Advocates of stricter limits on immigration criticised the additional visas,?saying American workers should get job openings

The US government cleared the way on Monday for thousands more foreign workers to enter the country under temporary seasonal visas, just as President Donald Trump declared this "Made In America" week and pledged to stand up for US workers. Advocates of stricter limits on immigration criticised the additional visas, saying American workers should get job openings. Trump, a former New York real estate magnate who has relied on seasonal workers at his hotels and resorts, campaigned on promises to restore American jobs. On Monday, he showcased "Made in America" products at the White House and made an impassioned defence of America First policies. "We're going to stand up for our companies and maybe most importantly for our workers," the Republican president said. "Clearly it's time for a new policy, one defined by two simple rules: We will buy American. And we will hire American." Federal officials said there were not enough qualified and willing American workers available to perform certain types of temporary nonagricultural work. As a result, the government will allow 15,000 additional visas for temporary seasonal workers, meant to help American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm because of a shortage of such labour, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. "As a demonstration of the administration's commitment to supporting American businesses, DHS is providing this one-time increase to the congressionally set annual cap," Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said in a statement. Many seasonal businesses such as resorts, landscaping companies and seafood harvesters and processors had sought permission to temporarily hire more immigrants. Congress originally set the cap at 66,000 workers for the fiscal year ending September 30. In May, lawmakers gave Kelly authority to approve up to an additional 70,000 temporary visas and pleaded with him to use his authority to issue as many of them as he thought appropriate. Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a group that supports immigration controls, said in a statement the decision "threatens to reverse the trend of reports emerging around the country of employers working harder and raising pay to successfully recruit more unemployed Americans for lower-skilled jobs." Beck said it was "yet another example of the administration and Congress failing to keep the Trump campaign promise of putting American workers first." Minimal relief granted Trump campaigned on an "America First" platform of favouring Americans for hiring. Trump's golf resorts in Florida have used the visas, however, to hire temporary guest workers. The clothing line of the president's older daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, uses foreign factories employing low-wage workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and China, a recent Washington Post report showed. A group of US companies that use the visas, called the "the H-2B Workforce Coalition," praised the "minimal relief granted." It said: "From landscapers in Colorado to innkeepers in Maine to seafood processors along the Gulf Coast to carnivals nationwide, we hope the visa expansion will help some businesses avoid substantial financial loss, and in some cases, prevent early business closures during their peak season." A report on Monday by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, found, however, there was little evidence of worker shortages in H-2B jobs at the national level. “Expanding the H-2B programme without reforming it to improve protections and increase wages for migrant workers will essentially allow unscrupulous employers to carve out an even larger rights-free zone in the low-wage labour market,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the institute. Kelly has acknowledged that many temporary workers "are victimised when they come up here, in terms of what they’re paid." DHS said the government had created a tip line to report any abuse of the visas or employer violations.

US allows more seasonal low-wage foreign workers as Trump pushes 'hire American'

The US&nbsp;Secret Service on Sunday denied a suggestion from President Donald Trump&#39;s personal lawyer that it had vetted a meeting between the president&#39;s son and Russian nationals during the 2016 campaign.

Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;has acknowledged that he met in New York with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya after he was told she might have damaging information about his father&#39;s rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

&quot;Well, I wonder why the Secret Service, if this was nefarious, why the Secret Service allowed these people in. The president had Secret Service protection at that point, and that raised a question with me,&quot; Jay Sekulow, a member of the president&#39;s legal team, said on Sunday on the ABC news program &quot;This Week&quot;.

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<h5>According to emails released by Trump Jr&nbsp;last week, he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya, who he was told was a Russian government lawyer</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=According to emails released by Trump Jr?last week, he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya, who he was told was a Russian government lawyer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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In an emailed response to questions about Sekulow&#39;s comments, Secret Service spokesman Mason Brayman said the younger Trump was not under Secret Service protection at the time of the meeting, which included Trump&#39;s son and two senior campaign officials.

&quot;Donald Trump, Jr. was not a protectee of the USSS in June, 2016. Thus we would not have screened anyone he was meeting with at that time,&quot; the statement said.

According to emails released by Trump Jr&nbsp;last week, he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya, who he was told was a Russian government lawyer. Veselnitskaya has said she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties.

On Friday, NBC News reported that a lobbyist who was once a Soviet counter-intelligence officer participated in the meeting, which was also attended by Trump&#39;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the president&#39;s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

The meeting appears to be the most tangible evidence of a connection between Trump&#39;s election campaign and Russia, a subject that has prompted investigations by congressional committees and a federal special counsel.

Moscow has denied any interference and the president and Trump Jr&nbsp;have denied any collusion.

&nbsp;

&quot;Under the bus&quot;

Sekulow&#39;s comments about the Secret Service drew quick criticism, including from Frances Townsend, who advised former Republican President George W&nbsp;Bush on homeland security.

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Ok let&#39;s try to deflect blame &amp; throw those in <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretService">@SecretService</a> who protect <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS">@FLOTUS</a> &amp; family under the bus ???????? <a href="https://t.co/HZBAv5HF9K">https://t.co/HZBAv5HF9K</a>
&mdash; Frances Townsend (@FranTownsend) <a href="https://twitter.com/FranTownsend/status/886581985195556864">July 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Ok let&#39;s try to deflect blame &amp; throw those in @SecretService who protect @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @FLOTUS &amp; family under the bus,&quot; she said on Twitter.

The Secret Service&#39;s mission is to provide physical protection for the US&nbsp;president. The agency also protects major presidential candidates. But its role in vetting people who meet with a US&nbsp;president or candidates is limited to ensuring physical safety.

&nbsp;

Lawyer: Trump unaware of meeting

Trump himself has said he was unaware of the meeting between his son and the Russian lawyer until a few days ago.

&quot;The president was not aware about this meeting, did not participate in this meeting,&quot; Sekulow told the CBS program &quot;Face the Nation.&quot;

Sekulow added that Trump was not aware of any meetings between his campaign staff and Russians.

A federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by US&nbsp;intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election to hurt Clinton and help Trump. They are also investigating potential connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on one of the panels investigating the matter, the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN: &quot;The level of credibility from the senior level of this administration really is suspect.&quot;

Warner said he wanted to hear from everyone who attended the June 2016 meeting.

&quot;Whether we will be able to get the Russian nationals to come over and testify is an open question, (but) those people that our committee has jurisdiction over, the Americans, I sure as heck want to talk to all of them,&quot; Warner said.

'Donald Trump, Jr. was not a protectee of the USSS in June, 2016. Thus we would not have screened anyone he was meeting with at that time'

The US Secret Service on Sunday denied a suggestion from President Donald Trump's personal lawyer that it had vetted a meeting between the president's son and Russian nationals during the 2016 campaign. Donald Trump Jr has acknowledged that he met in New York with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya after he was told she might have damaging information about his father's rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton. "Well, I wonder why the Secret Service, if this was nefarious, why the Secret Service allowed these people in. The president had Secret Service protection at that point, and that raised a question with me," Jay Sekulow, a member of the president's legal team, said on Sunday on the ABC news program "This Week". According to emails released by Trump Jr last week, he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya, who he was told was a Russian government lawyer × In an emailed response to questions about Sekulow's comments, Secret Service spokesman Mason Brayman said the younger Trump was not under Secret Service protection at the time of the meeting, which included Trump's son and two senior campaign officials. "Donald Trump, Jr. was not a protectee of the USSS in June, 2016. Thus we would not have screened anyone he was meeting with at that time," the statement said. According to emails released by Trump Jr last week, he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya, who he was told was a Russian government lawyer. Veselnitskaya has said she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties. On Friday, NBC News reported that a lobbyist who was once a Soviet counter-intelligence officer participated in the meeting, which was also attended by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the president's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. The meeting appears to be the most tangible evidence of a connection between Trump's election campaign and Russia, a subject that has prompted investigations by congressional committees and a federal special counsel. Moscow has denied any interference and the president and Trump Jr have denied any collusion. "Under the bus" Sekulow's comments about the Secret Service drew quick criticism, including from Frances Townsend, who advised former Republican President George W Bush on homeland security. Ok let's try to deflect blame & throw those in @SecretService who protect @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @FLOTUS & family under the bus ???????? https://t.co/HZBAv5HF9K — Frances Townsend (@FranTownsend) July 16, 2017 × "Ok let's try to deflect blame & throw those in @SecretService who protect @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @FLOTUS & family under the bus," she said on Twitter. The Secret Service's mission is to provide physical protection for the US president. The agency also protects major presidential candidates. But its role in vetting people who meet with a US president or candidates is limited to ensuring physical safety. Lawyer: Trump unaware of meeting Trump himself has said he was unaware of the meeting between his son and the Russian lawyer until a few days ago. "The president was not aware about this meeting, did not participate in this meeting," Sekulow told the CBS program "Face the Nation." Sekulow added that Trump was not aware of any meetings between his campaign staff and Russians. A federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election to hurt Clinton and help Trump. They are also investigating potential connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on one of the panels investigating the matter, the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN: "The level of credibility from the senior level of this administration really is suspect." Warner said he wanted to hear from everyone who attended the June 2016 meeting. "Whether we will be able to get the Russian nationals to come over and testify is an open question, (but) those people that our committee has jurisdiction over, the Americans, I sure as heck want to talk to all of them," Warner said.

US Secret Service rejects suggestion it vetted Russians at Trump son's meeting

President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Friday on fellow Republicans in the US Senate to pass a bill dismantling the Obamacare law, but with their retooled&nbsp;healthcare&nbsp;plan drawing fire within the party even one more defection would doom it.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has planned for a vote next week on revised legislation, unveiled on Thursday, and he has his work cut out for him in the coming days to get the 50 &quot;yes&quot; votes needed for passage. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin and cannot afford to lose more than two from within their ranks because of united Democratic opposition, but two Republican senators already have declared opposition.

&quot;After all of these years of suffering thru Obamacare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised,&quot; Trump, who made gutting Obamacare one of his central campaign promises last year, wrote on Twitter from Paris, where he attended Bastille Day celebrations.

The top US doctors&#39; group, the American Medical Association, on Friday called the new bill inadequate and said more bipartisan collaboration is needed in the months ahead to improve the delivery and financing of&nbsp;healthcare. Hospital and medical advocacy groups also have criticised&nbsp;the bill.

&quot;The revised bill does not address the key concerns of physicians and patients regarding proposed Medicaid cuts and inadequate subsidies that will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage,&quot; AMA president Dr David Barbe said, referring to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled.

A major test for McConnell&#39;s legislation expected early next week is an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which last month forecast that the prior version of the bill would have resulted in 22 million Americans losing insurance over the next decade.

A day after that CBO analysis was issued, McConnell postponed a planned vote on the legislation because of a revolt within his own party, including moderates and hard-line conservatives.

While the bill&#39;s prospects may look precarious, the same could have been said of&nbsp;health care legislation that ultimately was passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called off a vote in March in the face of a rebellion involving the disparate factions of the party but managed to coax enough lawmakers to back it and engineered narrow approval on May 4.

Pence seeks support

Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation&#39;s governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio&#39;s John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market.

Kasich&#39;s opposition could put pressure on Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio, who has not yet taken a position on the bill.

If the current Senate legislation collapses, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of seeking bipartisan legislation to fix parts of Obamacare but leaving intact the structure of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama&#39;s signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare.

&quot;There are changes that need to be made to the law,&quot; Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told MSNBC, citing &quot;a bipartisan appetite to tackle this issue.&quot;

Moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul already oppose the revised Senate bill. Other Republican senators have either expressed concern or remained noncommittal, including Portman, Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, John McCain, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner, Todd Young and Thom Tillis. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy floated an alternative plan.

The new version was crafted to satisfy the Republican Party&#39;s various elements, including moderates worried about Americans who would be left without medical coverage and hard-line conservatives who demand less government regulation of health insurance.

A provision championed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and aimed at attracting conservatives would let insurers sell cheap, bare-bones insurance policies that would not have to cover broad benefits mandated under Obamacare.

But two major health insurance groups, America&#39;s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, called on McConnell to drop the Cruz proposal, saying it would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions, raise insurance premiums and destabilise the individual insurance market.

The bill retained certain Obamacare taxes on the wealthy that the earlier version would have eliminated, a step moderates could embrace. But it kept the core of the earlier bill, including ending the expansion of Medicaid that was instrumental in enabling Obamacare to expand coverage to 20 million people, and restructuring that social safety-net program.

John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in order to complete work on the bill by the end of next week, Senate leaders would have to try to formally begin debate on Tuesday or Wednesday, a move that requires a majority vote.

Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation's governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio's John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market

President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Friday on fellow Republicans in the US Senate to pass a bill dismantling the Obamacare law, but with their retooled healthcare plan drawing fire within the party even one more defection would doom it. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has planned for a vote next week on revised legislation, unveiled on Thursday, and he has his work cut out for him in the coming days to get the 50 "yes" votes needed for passage. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin and cannot afford to lose more than two from within their ranks because of united Democratic opposition, but two Republican senators already have declared opposition. "After all of these years of suffering thru Obamacare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised," Trump, who made gutting Obamacare one of his central campaign promises last year, wrote on Twitter from Paris, where he attended Bastille Day celebrations. The top US doctors' group, the American Medical Association, on Friday called the new bill inadequate and said more bipartisan collaboration is needed in the months ahead to improve the delivery and financing of healthcare. Hospital and medical advocacy groups also have criticised the bill. "The revised bill does not address the key concerns of physicians and patients regarding proposed Medicaid cuts and inadequate subsidies that will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage," AMA president Dr David Barbe said, referring to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled. A major test for McConnell's legislation expected early next week is an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which last month forecast that the prior version of the bill would have resulted in 22 million Americans losing insurance over the next decade. A day after that CBO analysis was issued, McConnell postponed a planned vote on the legislation because of a revolt within his own party, including moderates and hard-line conservatives. While the bill's prospects may look precarious, the same could have been said of health care legislation that ultimately was passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called off a vote in March in the face of a rebellion involving the disparate factions of the party but managed to coax enough lawmakers to back it and engineered narrow approval on May 4. Pence seeks support Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation's governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio's John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market. Kasich's opposition could put pressure on Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio, who has not yet taken a position on the bill. If the current Senate legislation collapses, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of seeking bipartisan legislation to fix parts of Obamacare but leaving intact the structure of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare. "There are changes that need to be made to the law," Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told MSNBC, citing "a bipartisan appetite to tackle this issue." Moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul already oppose the revised Senate bill. Other Republican senators have either expressed concern or remained noncommittal, including Portman, Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, John McCain, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner, Todd Young and Thom Tillis. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy floated an alternative plan. The new version was crafted to satisfy the Republican Party's various elements, including moderates worried about Americans who would be left without medical coverage and hard-line conservatives who demand less government regulation of health insurance. A provision championed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and aimed at attracting conservatives would let insurers sell cheap, bare-bones insurance policies that would not have to cover broad benefits mandated under Obamacare. But two major health insurance groups, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, called on McConnell to drop the Cruz proposal, saying it would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions, raise insurance premiums and destabilise the individual insurance market. The bill retained certain Obamacare taxes on the wealthy that the earlier version would have eliminated, a step moderates could embrace. But it kept the core of the earlier bill, including ending the expansion of Medicaid that was instrumental in enabling Obamacare to expand coverage to 20 million people, and restructuring that social safety-net program. John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in order to complete work on the bill by the end of next week, Senate leaders would have to try to formally begin debate on Tuesday or Wednesday, a move that requires a majority vote.

Another Republican defection would doom Senate healthcare bill

President Donald Trump held the door open to a reversal of his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord on Thursday, but did not say what he would need in return to persuade him to do so.

Trump,&nbsp;who has made few friends in Europe with his rejection of the 2015 Paris agreement and his &quot;America First&quot; trade stance,&nbsp;met with French President Emmanuel Macron as both leaders sought common ground to reset an awkward relationship.

&quot;Something could happen with respect to the Paris accords, let&#39;s see what happens,&quot; Trump told a news conference. &quot;If it happens, that will be wonderful, and if it doesn&#39;t, that&#39;ll be OK too.&quot;

Trump has said the Paris accord is soft on leading polluters like China and India, putting US industry at risk.

&quot;I respect the wish to preserve jobs, I think that&#39;s compatible with the Paris accord,&quot; Macron said at the joint conference.

&quot;There is no sudden and unexpected change today, otherwise we would have announced it, but there is the shared intention to continue discussing these issues,&quot; the French president added.&nbsp; 
 
Trump and Macron&#39;s relationship got off to a bumpy start,&nbsp;but both have an incentive to improve relations - Macron hopes to elevate France&#39;s role in global affairs,&nbsp;and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders,&nbsp;needs a friend overseas.

Trump came to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US&nbsp;election, with emails released on Tuesday suggesting his eldest son welcomed an offer of Russian help against his father&#39;s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Weeks after Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles,&nbsp;Trump will bask in the trappings of the Bastille Day military parade on Friday and commemorations of the entry 100 years ago of US&nbsp;troops into World War One.&nbsp;

Macron welcomed Trump with a warm handshake and smiles, a contrast to the clenched-jaw greeting they shared at their first encounter in May.

&quot;Emmanuel, nice to see you. This is so beautiful,&quot; the US president told Macron as they met at the Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon Bonaparte and other French war heroes are buried.

Syria cooperation

For the 39-year-old Macron, France&#39;s youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries ago,&nbsp;the visit is a chance to use soft diplomacy to win Trump&#39;s confidence and set about influencing US foreign policy,&nbsp;which European leaders say lacks direction.

Macron views it as counter-productive to isolate the United States on the world stage,&nbsp;and said he and Trump had asked diplomats to draw up in the coming weeks a concrete initiative aimed at preparing the future of Syria.

&quot;On the Iraq-Syria situation, we have agreed to continue working together, in particular on the building of a roadmap for the post-war period,&quot; Macron said.

Trump said work was underway to negotiate a ceasefire in a second region of Syria.

On Friday,&nbsp;Trump will be guest of honour at France&#39;s July 14 celebrations, a year after a Tunisian man loyal to Islamic State ploughed a truck through revellers on a seafront promenade in Nice, killing more than 80.

During the US election campaign,&nbsp;Trump said a wave of militant attacks showed &quot;France is no longer France&quot;, and reprimanded the then-Socialist government for allegedly bowing its head to jihadists.

In bringing Trump to Paris, Macron has stolen a march on Britain`s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May.

London&#39;s offer of a state visit for Trump met fierce domestic criticism and warnings that he would be greeted by mass protests.

An Elabe poll showed that 59 per cent of French people approved of Macron&#39;s decision to invite Trump. 
&nbsp;

The US President said 'something could happen' with respect to the 2015 Paris accord

President Donald Trump held the door open to a reversal of his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord on Thursday, but did not say what he would need in return to persuade him to do so. Trump, who has made few friends in Europe with his rejection of the 2015 Paris agreement and his "America First" trade stance, met with French President Emmanuel Macron as both leaders sought common ground to reset an awkward relationship. "Something could happen with respect to the Paris accords, let's see what happens," Trump told a news conference. "If it happens, that will be wonderful, and if it doesn't, that'll be OK too." Trump has said the Paris accord is soft on leading polluters like China and India, putting US industry at risk. "I respect the wish to preserve jobs, I think that's compatible with the Paris accord," Macron said at the joint conference. "There is no sudden and unexpected change today, otherwise we would have announced it, but there is the shared intention to continue discussing these issues," the French president added. Trump and Macron's relationship got off to a bumpy start, but both have an incentive to improve relations - Macron hopes to elevate France's role in global affairs, and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders, needs a friend overseas. Trump came to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, with emails released on Tuesday suggesting his eldest son welcomed an offer of Russian help against his father's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Weeks after Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles, Trump will bask in the trappings of the Bastille Day military parade on Friday and commemorations of the entry 100 years ago of US troops into World War One. Macron welcomed Trump with a warm handshake and smiles, a contrast to the clenched-jaw greeting they shared at their first encounter in May. "Emmanuel, nice to see you. This is so beautiful," the US president told Macron as they met at the Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon Bonaparte and other French war heroes are buried. Syria cooperation For the 39-year-old Macron, France's youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries ago, the visit is a chance to use soft diplomacy to win Trump's confidence and set about influencing US foreign policy, which European leaders say lacks direction. Macron views it as counter-productive to isolate the United States on the world stage, and said he and Trump had asked diplomats to draw up in the coming weeks a concrete initiative aimed at preparing the future of Syria. "On the Iraq-Syria situation, we have agreed to continue working together, in particular on the building of a roadmap for the post-war period," Macron said. Trump said work was underway to negotiate a ceasefire in a second region of Syria. On Friday, Trump will be guest of honour at France's July 14 celebrations, a year after a Tunisian man loyal to Islamic State ploughed a truck through revellers on a seafront promenade in Nice, killing more than 80. During the US election campaign, Trump said a wave of militant attacks showed "France is no longer France", and reprimanded the then-Socialist government for allegedly bowing its head to jihadists. In bringing Trump to Paris, Macron has stolen a march on Britain`s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. London's offer of a state visit for Trump met fierce domestic criticism and warnings that he would be greeted by mass protests. An Elabe poll showed that 59 per cent of French people approved of Macron's decision to invite Trump.

Trump hints he could change position on climate pact

The United States, Russia and Jordan have reached a crucial ceasefire and &quot;de-escalation agreement&quot;&nbsp;in southwestern Syria, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said on Friday.

Tillerson announced the deal after a meeting&nbsp;between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg.&nbsp;

The ceasefire&nbsp;goes into effect on Sunday,&nbsp;Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who was also present at the meeting, said.&nbsp;

Tillerson said the area covered by the ceasefire affects Jordan&rsquo;s security and is a &ldquo;very complicated part of the Syrian battlefield&rdquo;.

&ldquo;It is (a) well-defined agreement on who will secure this area,&rdquo; he told the media,&nbsp;

Prior to leaving for the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Tillerson had said the US was prepared to discuss joint&nbsp;efforts with Russia in order to stabilise the situation in Syria,&nbsp;

(with inputs from Reuters)

&nbsp;

The United States, Russia and Jordan have brokered a crucial ceasefire deal in southwest Syria that goes into effect on Sunday

The United States, Russia and Jordan have reached a crucial ceasefire and "de-escalation agreement" in southwestern Syria, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said on Friday. Tillerson announced the deal after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg. The ceasefire goes into effect on Sunday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who was also present at the meeting, said. Tillerson said the area covered by the ceasefire affects Jordan’s security and is a “very complicated part of the Syrian battlefield”. “It is (a) well-defined agreement on who will secure this area,” he told the media, Prior to leaving for the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Tillerson had said the US was prepared to discuss joint efforts with Russia in order to stabilise the situation in Syria, (with inputs from Reuters)

US, Russia and Jordan reach ceasefire deal for southwest Syria

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