Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to remove his name from the list of wanted criminals, alleging it to be a human rights principles violation.

Usually called "Putin's chef", Prigozhin's company catered for the Kremlin. He is wanted by the FBI "for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the United States".&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/wion-global-summit-live-if-we-dont-change-our-ways-crises-wont-end-says-ian-goldin-372686" hreflang="en">Global Summit LIVE: If we don't change our ways, crises won't end — Ian Goldin</a>

Prigozhin was indicted by the US three years ago for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

He has now written to the FBI calling it to be a violation of human rights under international law. "The FBI must immediately cease offering a monetary award to the public for my capture and delivery to the United States as this violates several principles of human rights under international law," he wrote.

His company, Concord, has taken to a social media platform, Vkontakte, on Wednesday, and reported that the company has written to the FBI chief Christopher Wray on March 23 regarding this matter.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-gets-covid-vaccine-kremlin-refuses-to-share-details-372644" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-gets-covid-vaccine-kremlin-refuses-to-share-details-372644&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwig06DM38jvAhXtwzgGHcyXDqsQFjACegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3og41GqXqOQxyiOKnfXZcf" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-gets-covid-vaccine-kremlin-refuses-to-share-details-372644" target="_blank">Putin gets Covid vaccine; Kremlin refuses to share details</a>

Concord has also claimed that Prigozhinrgeted unf is being taairly. "Fraudsters are fraudulently trying to accuse me, a squeaky clean person, of fraud," the company said in a statement.

He has also been named for allegedly funding the &nbsp;Internet Research Agency, a so-called troll farm in Saint Petersburg reported to have waged an online campaign in support of then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 US election.

The Kremlin aide has been linked to Wagner private military group, which allegedly sent mercenaries to conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. 
&nbsp;

Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to remove his name from the list of wanted criminals, alleging it to be a human rights principles violation.

Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to remove his name from the list of wanted criminals, alleging it to be a human rights principles violation. Usually called "Putin's chef", Prigozhin's company catered for the Kremlin. He is wanted by the FBI "for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the United States". Global Summit LIVE: If we don't change our ways, crises won't end — Ian Goldin Prigozhin was indicted by the US three years ago for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. He has now written to the FBI calling it to be a violation of human rights under international law. "The FBI must immediately cease offering a monetary award to the public for my capture and delivery to the United States as this violates several principles of human rights under international law," he wrote. His company, Concord, has taken to a social media platform, Vkontakte, on Wednesday, and reported that the company has written to the FBI chief Christopher Wray on March 23 regarding this matter. Also read | Putin gets Covid vaccine; Kremlin refuses to share details Concord has also claimed that Prigozhinrgeted unf is being taairly. "Fraudsters are fraudulently trying to accuse me, a squeaky clean person, of fraud," the company said in a statement. He has also been named for allegedly funding the Internet Research Agency, a so-called troll farm in Saint Petersburg reported to have waged an online campaign in support of then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 US election. The Kremlin aide has been linked to Wagner private military group, which allegedly sent mercenaries to conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

'Putin's chef' urges FBI to remove his name from wanted list of criminals

In the race to the bottom for the title of worst American president, the same few sorry names appear at the end of almost every list, jockeying for last place. There’s Andrew Johnson, whose abysmal behavior during Reconstruction led to the first presidential impeachment. There’s Warren G. Harding, responsible for the Teapot Dome scandal. There’s hapless, hated Franklin Pierce; doomed, dead-after-32-days William Henry Harrison; and inevitably, James Buchanan, often considered worst of all because of how badly he bungled the lead-up to the Civil War.

But as historians consider the legacy of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, it appears that even the woefully inadequate Buchanan has some serious competition for the spot at the bottom.

“Trump was the first president to be impeached twice and the first to stir up a mob to try to attack the Capitol and disrupt his successor from becoming president,” said Eric Rauchway, professor of history at the University of California, Davis. “These will definitely go down in history books, and they are not good.”

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-melania-trump-refuses-to-pose-with-donald-trump-after-he-leaves-white-house-twitter-laughs-358514">Watch: Melania Trump refuses to pose with Donald Trump after he leaves White House; Twitter laughs</a>

“I already feel that he is the worst,” said Ted Widmer, professor of history at the City University of New York, noting that as bad as Buchanan was — and he was very bad indeed — he was “not as aggressively bad as Trump.”

“Andrew Johnson and Nixon would be the two others in the worst category, and I think Trump has them beat pretty handily, too,” he added. “He has invented a whole new category, a subbasement that no one knew existed.”

Presidential ranking may be a water cooler exercise for historians, but it is also an official institutional pursuit. The Siena College Research Institute regularly compiles ranked lists of all the American presidents, based on the composite views of scholars. So does C-SPAN.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-impeachment-trial-put-off-until-early-february-358797" hreflang="en">Trump impeachment trial put off until early February</a>

Various polls periodically ask regular citizens to weigh in. And on Twitter last week, Chris Hayes of MSNBC took the presidential-ranking parlor game to his followers, asking them to list the “five worst presidents of all time.” (He put Trump as the second worst, just after Johnson.)

Trump was a highly divisive president, of course, and one of the confounding things about him was how two people could look at his behavior and make completely different assessments.

But not so much anymore.

“I would say that before the election it depended on one’s political outlook,” with conservatives applauding his tax cuts, deregulation policies and judicial appointments, said William Cooper Jr., professor emeritus of history at Louisiana State University. “But from the election forward, I don’t see how anyone could feel that Trump’s behavior was anything but reprehensible or that he hasn’t completely destroyed any legacy he would have left.”

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-tried-replacing-attorney-general-for-personal-needs-reports-358769" hreflang="en">Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports</a>

He cited Trump’s refusal to concede the election; his promotion of baseless conspiracy theories attacking voting integrity; his intemperate, self-promoting behavior during the Georgia Senate runoffs, which helped ensure victory for the two Democratic candidates; and his encouragement of the crowd that rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Even conservatives from Atlanta, where Cooper lives, have had it with Trump, he said. “He has tarred and feathered himself, and I think it will blemish him for a long, long, long time.”

Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and a member of the advisory panel for C-SPAN’s Presidential Historians Survey, said that Trump “was a bad president in just about every regard.”

“I find him to be the worst president in U.S. history, personally,” Brinkley said, “even worse than William Henry Harrison, who was president for only one month. You don’t want to be ranked below him.”

Brinkley brought up Richard Nixon, the only president to resign in disgrace.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/the-end-of-trump-can-be-the-beginning-of-america-358889" hreflang="en">The end of Trump can be the beginning of America</a>

“At least when Nixon left, he put the country ahead of himself at the last minute,” Brinkley said. “Now he looks like a statesman compared to Trump.”

These are all hot takes, of course — the sound of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” the song playing Wednesday as Trump flew out of Washington, has barely faded from our ears — and it is too soon to know how history will judge him. But things do not augur well, said Don Levy, director of Siena’s research institute.

In the most recent Siena survey, a year into the Trump administration, Trump was rated 42nd out of 44 presidents, less terrible than only Buchanan and Johnson. In almost every category — integrity, intelligence and relationship with Congress, for instance — he was rated at or nearly rock bottom. (The exceptions: He was 25th in “willing to take risks” and 10th in “luck.”)

“Speaking in terms of this survey, it would be surprising if Trump was meaningfully rehabilitated,” Levy said. “If the opening paragraph of any discussion starts about being impeached twice, and the second sentence is about the coronavirus, and the third is about partisanship, that’s going to be very hard to overcome.”

Sean Wilentz, a professor of American history at Princeton University, said that Trump was the worst president in history, hands down.

“He’s in a whole other category in terms of the damage he’s done to the Republic,” said Wilentz, citing the radicalization of the Republican Party, the inept response to the pandemic and what he called “the brazen, almost psychedelic mendacity of the man.”

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose most recent book, “Leadership: In Turbulent Times,” looks at how four presidents confronted tough moments in history, said that it normally takes a generation to evaluate a leader. But to the extent that a president’s legacy is determined by his ability to rise to a crisis, Trump will be remembered for his failures: how poorly he handled COVID-19 and how disgracefully he behaved after the election.

“History will look with grave disfavor on President Trump for the crisis he created,” she said.

For his part, Rauchway said he believed that Trump would “crash the bottom five” on the presidential rankings but that the bottom spot itself was uncertain. “I think he has some stiff competition” in Johnson, whom Rauchway personally regards as the worst president of all.

“If I had to predict where historiography would go, I think people would have to recognize that Trumpism — nativism and white supremacy — has deep roots in American history,” Rauchway said. “But Trump himself put it to new and malignant purpose.”

Robert Strauss, a journalist and the author of “Worst. President. Ever.,” a popular history of Buchanan, seemed reluctant to allow the subject of his book to relinquish his title.

“I can go through a litany of things that Buchanan did,” he said. “In the time period between Lincoln’s election and the inauguration” — that is, during the lame-duck period of Buchanan’s presidency — “he let seven states secede and said, ‘I can’t do anything about it.’ He also influenced the Dred Scott decision, the worst decision in Supreme Court history.”

Of course, “the difference was that Buchanan was a nice guy,” Strauss said. “He was the greatest party-giver of the 19th century. He was kind to his nieces and nephews. What he was, was not a very good president.”

As they considered Trump’s record in comparison to that of other presidents, some historians said that he could have done things to salvage his reputation.

“If he had presided over a competent response to COVID, he would have won reelection easily,” Widmer of the City University of New York said. “And if he had responded with grace to his loss, a lot of people would have given him some grudging respect.”

And yes, he added, Trump was worse than Buchanan.

“Trump is a worse failure because he really wanted to be reelected, and he was rejected,” Widmer said. “Buchanan colossally failed, but at least he had the dignity not to run again.”

In the race to the bottom for the title of worst American president, the same few sorry names appear at the end of almost every list, jockeying for last place. There’s Andrew Johnson, whose abysmal behavior during Reconstruction led to the first presidential impeachment.

In the race to the bottom for the title of worst American president, the same few sorry names appear at the end of almost every list, jockeying for last place. There’s Andrew Johnson, whose abysmal behavior during Reconstruction led to the first presidential impeachment. There’s Warren G. Harding, responsible for the Teapot Dome scandal. There’s hapless, hated Franklin Pierce; doomed, dead-after-32-days William Henry Harrison; and inevitably, James Buchanan, often considered worst of all because of how badly he bungled the lead-up to the Civil War. But as historians consider the legacy of Donald Trump, it appears that even the woefully inadequate Buchanan has some serious competition for the spot at the bottom. “Trump was the first president to be impeached twice and the first to stir up a mob to try to attack the Capitol and disrupt his successor from becoming president,” said Eric Rauchway, professor of history at the University of California, Davis. “These will definitely go down in history books, and they are not good.” Also read| Watch: Melania Trump refuses to pose with Donald Trump after he leaves White House; Twitter laughs “I already feel that he is the worst,” said Ted Widmer, professor of history at the City University of New York, noting that as bad as Buchanan was — and he was very bad indeed — he was “not as aggressively bad as Trump.” “Andrew Johnson and Nixon would be the two others in the worst category, and I think Trump has them beat pretty handily, too,” he added. “He has invented a whole new category, a subbasement that no one knew existed.” Presidential ranking may be a water cooler exercise for historians, but it is also an official institutional pursuit. The Siena College Research Institute regularly compiles ranked lists of all the American presidents, based on the composite views of scholars. So does C-SPAN. Also read| Trump impeachment trial put off until early February Various polls periodically ask regular citizens to weigh in. And on Twitter last week, Chris Hayes of MSNBC took the presidential-ranking parlor game to his followers, asking them to list the “five worst presidents of all time.” (He put Trump as the second worst, just after Johnson.) Trump was a highly divisive president, of course, and one of the confounding things about him was how two people could look at his behavior and make completely different assessments. But not so much anymore. “I would say that before the election it depended on one’s political outlook,” with conservatives applauding his tax cuts, deregulation policies and judicial appointments, said William Cooper Jr., professor emeritus of history at Louisiana State University. “But from the election forward, I don’t see how anyone could feel that Trump’s behavior was anything but reprehensible or that he hasn’t completely destroyed any legacy he would have left.” Also read| Donald Trump tried replacing attorney general for personal needs: Reports He cited Trump’s refusal to concede the election; his promotion of baseless conspiracy theories attacking voting integrity; his intemperate, self-promoting behavior during the Georgia Senate runoffs, which helped ensure victory for the two Democratic candidates; and his encouragement of the crowd that rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Even conservatives from Atlanta, where Cooper lives, have had it with Trump, he said. “He has tarred and feathered himself, and I think it will blemish him for a long, long, long time.” Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and a member of the advisory panel for C-SPAN’s Presidential Historians Survey, said that Trump “was a bad president in just about every regard.” “I find him to be the worst president in U.S. history, personally,” Brinkley said, “even worse than William Henry Harrison, who was president for only one month. You don’t want to be ranked below him.” Brinkley brought up Richard Nixon, the only president to resign in disgrace. Also read| The end of Trump can be the beginning of America “At least when Nixon left, he put the country ahead of himself at the last minute,” Brinkley said. “Now he looks like a statesman compared to Trump.” These are all hot takes, of course — the sound of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” the song playing Wednesday as Trump flew out of Washington, has barely faded from our ears — and it is too soon to know how history will judge him. But things do not augur well, said Don Levy, director of Siena’s research institute. In the most recent Siena survey, a year into the Trump administration, Trump was rated 42nd out of 44 presidents, less terrible than only Buchanan and Johnson. In almost every category — integrity, intelligence and relationship with Congress, for instance — he was rated at or nearly rock bottom. (The exceptions: He was 25th in “willing to take risks” and 10th in “luck.”) “Speaking in terms of this survey, it would be surprising if Trump was meaningfully rehabilitated,” Levy said. “If the opening paragraph of any discussion starts about being impeached twice, and the second sentence is about the coronavirus, and the third is about partisanship, that’s going to be very hard to overcome.” Sean Wilentz, a professor of American history at Princeton University, said that Trump was the worst president in history, hands down. “He’s in a whole other category in terms of the damage he’s done to the Republic,” said Wilentz, citing the radicalization of the Republican Party, the inept response to the pandemic and what he called “the brazen, almost psychedelic mendacity of the man.” Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose most recent book, “Leadership: In Turbulent Times,” looks at how four presidents confronted tough moments in history, said that it normally takes a generation to evaluate a leader. But to the extent that a president’s legacy is determined by his ability to rise to a crisis, Trump will be remembered for his failures: how poorly he handled COVID-19 and how disgracefully he behaved after the election. “History will look with grave disfavor on President Trump for the crisis he created,” she said. For his part, Rauchway said he believed that Trump would “crash the bottom five” on the presidential rankings but that the bottom spot itself was uncertain. “I think he has some stiff competition” in Johnson, whom Rauchway personally regards as the worst president of all. “If I had to predict where historiography would go, I think people would have to recognize that Trumpism — nativism and white supremacy — has deep roots in American history,” Rauchway said. “But Trump himself put it to new and malignant purpose.” Robert Strauss, a journalist and the author of “Worst. President. Ever.,” a popular history of Buchanan, seemed reluctant to allow the subject of his book to relinquish his title. “I can go through a litany of things that Buchanan did,” he said. “In the time period between Lincoln’s election and the inauguration” — that is, during the lame-duck period of Buchanan’s presidency — “he let seven states secede and said, ‘I can’t do anything about it.’ He also influenced the Dred Scott decision, the worst decision in Supreme Court history.” Of course, “the difference was that Buchanan was a nice guy,” Strauss said. “He was the greatest party-giver of the 19th century. He was kind to his nieces and nephews. What he was, was not a very good president.” As they considered Trump’s record in comparison to that of other presidents, some historians said that he could have done things to salvage his reputation. “If he had presided over a competent response to COVID, he would have won reelection easily,” Widmer of the City University of New York said. “And if he had responded with grace to his loss, a lot of people would have given him some grudging respect.” And yes, he added, Trump was worse than Buchanan. “Trump is a worse failure because he really wanted to be reelected, and he was rejected,” Widmer said. “Buchanan colossally failed, but at least he had the dignity not to run again.”

The Trump presidency is now history. So how will it rank?

US President Donald Trump backed Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders in his back-and-forth with rival Elizabeth Warren, saying he did not believe Sanders would suggest a woman could not win the 2020 election.

US President Donald Trump backed Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders in his back-and-forth with rival Elizabeth Warren, saying he did not believe Sanders would suggest a woman could not win the 2020 election. Tensions between Warren and Sanders, two US senators who are running for the Democratic nomination, have escalated after a report that Sanders told Warren in 2018 that he did not believe a woman could beat Trump. Warren confirmed the report late on Monday in a statement, saying: "I thought a woman could win; he disagreed." However, Sanders has denied making such a statement. Trump, at a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday, sided with the self-described democratic socialist. "I don’t believe that Bernie said that. I really don’t. It’s not the kind of a thing he would say,” Trump said, adding that he did not know Sanders and did not like him. Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 White House race. According to Reuters, Trump may have reason to favuor Sanders in the Democratic primary race. At rallies, his promise to prevent America from becoming a socialist country always get loud applause. If Sanders were to win the nomination, Trump would be able to make that argument a key and popular part of his re-election pitch.

Trump backs Sanders in row with Warren over prospect of female US president

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was keen to keep abreast of the release of emails potentially damaging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, reaching all the way to Trump himself, the Republican's former deputy campaign chairman testified in court on Tuesday.

Rick Gates, testifying in the criminal trial in federal court in Washington of Trump's longtime political adviser Roger Stone, said he witnessed a call between Trump and Stone related to the WikiLeaks website in late July 2016.

WikiLeaks disclosed several batches of stolen emails in the months before the November election that damaged Clinton. US&nbsp;intelligence agencies and Special Counsel <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/robert-mueller-testimony-on-russia-meddling-investigation-postponed-reports-235395">Robert Muller</a> later concluded they had been stolen by Russian hackers.

Although Gates acknowledged he could not hear the contents of the call between then-candidate Trump and Stone as they were driving to LaGuardia Airport in New York City, he said that within 30 seconds or so of Trump hanging up, Trump said that "more information would be coming," in an apparent reference to WikiLeaks.

The testimony by Gates, who appeared under a cooperation agreement, could potentially hurt Stone as he faces charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the US&nbsp;House of Representatives Intelligence Committee in its investigation into Russian interference in the election. Stone has pleaded not guilty.

The testimony also appears to conflict with sworn statements that Trump gave Mueller, in which the president wrote that he had "no recollection of the specifics of any conversation" with Stone from June 1, 2016 through November 8, 2016 and that he could "not recall discussing WikiLeaks" with Stone.

Both the government and Stone's defence team rested their cases on Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled for 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, followed by jury deliberations.

Stone, a longtime Republican operative and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster," is accused of telling Congress five lies related to WikiLeaks.

One such allegation is whether Stone misled the committee in September 2017 by stating that he never spoke to Trump campaign officials about what he was hearing through an intermediary about WikiLeaks or the website's founder, Julian Assange.

Another allegation relates to claims Stone made that comedian Randy Credico was his intermediary with WikiLeaks. Prosecutors said Stone was not talking to Credico about WikiLeaks in the summer of 2016, but rather, he was speaking to conservative author named Jerome Corsi, whom Stone instructed in one email to "get to Assange!" and learn when the Clinton emails would be coming out.

Credico testified during the trial he never actually spoke to Assange on Stone's behalf, but at times pretended he would in order to get Stone off his back.

Gates' testimony on Tuesday offered a window into the Trump campaign's thinking on WikiLeaks, and appeared to align with testimony that former Trump campaign chief executive and ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon gave on Friday when Bannon said the campaign saw Stone as an "access point" to WikiLeaks.

Gates said Stone had spoken to him as early as spring 2016 about an expectation that "information would be coming out" from WikiLeaks.

He said he thought that Stone knew this through non-public information and that top campaign officials including Gates, then-campaign manager Paul Manafort and aides Jason Miller and Stephen Miller held brainstorming sessions based “in part on Mr. Stone’s predictions” about WikiLeaks' plans.

At first, those predictions did not pan out. But when WikiLeaks finally dumped a batch of emails on July 22, 2016, the campaign was elated.

"It was, in a way, a gift," Gates said.

Gates pled guilty last year to charges arising from Mueller's investigation.

In a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said the testimony by Gates - who also testified last year against Manafort in a trial in which Manafort was convicted and sent to prison for 7-1/2 years - will conclude his cooperation with the government, and they asked a judge to set a mid-December sentencing date.

Stone's attorneys tried to discredit Gates on Tuesday by repeatedly asking him about the crimes he committed with Manafort.

Later, they also filed a motion with the judge asking her to acquit Stone on charges of lying to Congress, saying the government had failed to prove that Stone actually had any intermediary with WikiLeaks. The judge has not yet ruled.

Stone's attorneys also say that his testimony fell into line with the parameters of the committee's investigation into Russian interference and that the scope of the probe in Stone's mind did not include WikiLeaks or Julian Assange.

In Stone's defence, his attorneys played the jury a roughly 50 minute-long audio tape of Stone's closed-door testimony to the committee, introduced some documents into evidence and rested their case without calling any witnesses.

US President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was keen to keep abreast of the release of emails potentially damaging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, reaching all the way to Trump himself, the Republican's former deputy campaign chairman testified in court on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was keen to keep abreast of the release of emails potentially damaging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, reaching all the way to Trump himself, the Republican's former deputy campaign chairman testified in court on Tuesday. Rick Gates, testifying in the criminal trial in federal court in Washington of Trump's longtime political adviser Roger Stone, said he witnessed a call between Trump and Stone related to the WikiLeaks website in late July 2016. WikiLeaks disclosed several batches of stolen emails in the months before the November election that damaged Clinton. US intelligence agencies and Special Counsel Robert Muller later concluded they had been stolen by Russian hackers. Although Gates acknowledged he could not hear the contents of the call between then-candidate Trump and Stone as they were driving to LaGuardia Airport in New York City, he said that within 30 seconds or so of Trump hanging up, Trump said that "more information would be coming," in an apparent reference to WikiLeaks. The testimony by Gates, who appeared under a cooperation agreement, could potentially hurt Stone as he faces charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee in its investigation into Russian interference in the election. Stone has pleaded not guilty. The testimony also appears to conflict with sworn statements that Trump gave Mueller, in which the president wrote that he had "no recollection of the specifics of any conversation" with Stone from June 1, 2016 through November 8, 2016 and that he could "not recall discussing WikiLeaks" with Stone. Both the government and Stone's defence team rested their cases on Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled for 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, followed by jury deliberations. Stone, a longtime Republican operative and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster," is accused of telling Congress five lies related to WikiLeaks. One such allegation is whether Stone misled the committee in September 2017 by stating that he never spoke to Trump campaign officials about what he was hearing through an intermediary about WikiLeaks or the website's founder, Julian Assange. Another allegation relates to claims Stone made that comedian Randy Credico was his intermediary with WikiLeaks. Prosecutors said Stone was not talking to Credico about WikiLeaks in the summer of 2016, but rather, he was speaking to conservative author named Jerome Corsi, whom Stone instructed in one email to "get to Assange!" and learn when the Clinton emails would be coming out. Credico testified during the trial he never actually spoke to Assange on Stone's behalf, but at times pretended he would in order to get Stone off his back. Gates' testimony on Tuesday offered a window into the Trump campaign's thinking on WikiLeaks, and appeared to align with testimony that former Trump campaign chief executive and ex-White House strategist Steve Bannon gave on Friday when Bannon said the campaign saw Stone as an "access point" to WikiLeaks. Gates said Stone had spoken to him as early as spring 2016 about an expectation that "information would be coming out" from WikiLeaks. He said he thought that Stone knew this through non-public information and that top campaign officials including Gates, then-campaign manager Paul Manafort and aides Jason Miller and Stephen Miller held brainstorming sessions based “in part on Mr. Stone’s predictions” about WikiLeaks' plans. At first, those predictions did not pan out. But when WikiLeaks finally dumped a batch of emails on July 22, 2016, the campaign was elated. "It was, in a way, a gift," Gates said. Gates pled guilty last year to charges arising from Mueller's investigation. In a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said the testimony by Gates - who also testified last year against Manafort in a trial in which Manafort was convicted and sent to prison for 7-1/2 years - will conclude his cooperation with the government, and they asked a judge to set a mid-December sentencing date. Stone's attorneys tried to discredit Gates on Tuesday by repeatedly asking him about the crimes he committed with Manafort. Later, they also filed a motion with the judge asking her to acquit Stone on charges of lying to Congress, saying the government had failed to prove that Stone actually had any intermediary with WikiLeaks. The judge has not yet ruled. Stone's attorneys also say that his testimony fell into line with the parameters of the committee's investigation into Russian interference and that the scope of the probe in Stone's mind did not include WikiLeaks or Julian Assange. In Stone's defence, his attorneys played the jury a roughly 50 minute-long audio tape of Stone's closed-door testimony to the committee, introduced some documents into evidence and rested their case without calling any witnesses.

Trump campaign wanted updates on 2016 WikiLeaks releases on Clinton - Ex-aide testifies

By Matthew Kolasa

The world’s eyes are on Donald Trump, but something much more profound is going on in America. The maverick Republican presidential nominee is but a symptom of a schism within the party sure to remain unresolved after the election. Trump has opportunistically seized on a power vacuum to win the party’s nomination with a campaign founded less on any specific policy agenda—“Everything is negotiable,” he has publicly declared—than on intuition and mastery of attracting publicity on television and social media to build a cult of personality.

The Trump phenomenon is not about Donald Trump. After President Barack Obama won re-election with a comfortable margin over Mitt Romney in 2012, Republicans could agree on one thing—that they urgently and desperately needed a radical change in strategy. While President George W. Bush could attract Spanish-speaking voters in 2000 and 2004, Republicans have seen declines in support among an increasingly large and influential Latino-Hispanic community. Women are less likely than before to vote for Republicans. Asian-Americans, a fast-growing demographic some call a natural “good fit” for the Republican Party, are flocking to the Democratic Party faster than any other group. The Grand Old Party (GOP) risks becoming uncompetitive.

THE SOUL OF THE PARTY

If the problem is easy to identify, the solution has proven elusive. The many factions that once formed the Republican “big tent” have begun demanding a say in the future of the new GOP. Libertarians have sought greater influence with their laissez-faire domestic agenda and isolationist foreign policy with champions like Ron and Rand Paul. The extreme rightist Freedom Caucus has made manifest its disdain for party leadership, unseating powerful figures like Majority Leader Eric Cantor in once-sleepy primary contests. Moderates have sought compromise, with Speaker Paul Ryan negotiating an uneasy truce that has likely ended with his denouncement of Trump.

Will the new GOP keep its old social values or move with changing attitudes on capital punishment, gay marriage and abortion? Will it keep its economic agenda or support social welfare programs? What of immigration? The schism is a battle for the party’s soul.

This is the underlying reason a populist like Donald Trump can abscond with the nomination. There were 17 candidates, including popular governors and senators, seeking the party’s mantle without direction from the establishment. Contrast this with Secretary Clinton, who effectively won her party’s nomination contest long before it began. Republicans knew they had a problem and had four years to pick a direction and a champion to lead them. Conservatives say, elect a true conservative and the base will rise up, while moderates insist that only a broader appeal can save the party. There have been internal battles before, but this is a level of dysfunction unseen in modern American history.

A NEW WORLD ORDER

Many Americans are living in fear and confusion, their lives and livelihoods shaped by tectonic forces they do not understand. Trade deals, market speculation, bailouts and migration are complex phenomena that leave those with stagnant wages and rising costs of living scrambling for a leader to champion them. This led some Democrats to support Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who vowed to fight against free trade and Wall Street. On the Republican side,&nbsp;Trump has blamed immigrants, unpatriotic corporations and weakness in the face of China, Mexico and Japan for America’s ills.

This fear and uncertainty manifested itself in Europe as well, with radical rightists and leftists gaining unexpected seats in parliaments across the continent. Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) came from a variety of grievances, from discontent with Prime Minister David Cameron, to opposition to immigration from Central and Eastern Europe, to a belief that Britain merely subsidises poorer EU countries.

The press has labelled these various protests against the world order “populism”—a term that belies the complexity of the issues the world faces and the difficulty world leaders have in helping those left behind, whether the victims of urban blight, or coal miners in Appalachia, or unemployed factory workers in northeast England.

One can argue these voters have become tribal, seeking one of their own to put their interests above those of other groups, but there is another way of&nbsp;understanding it: globalisation and government policies have resulted in winners and losers, and those who have gained little in recent decades see no reason to listen to economists’ arguments on the benefits of free trade, immigration or other reforms, no matter how compelling the evidence or the moral arguments.

While racism and xenophobia form an unfortunate part of the debate, these forces will only grow stronger if leaders ignore legitimate grievances. If they are ignored, Trumpism and Brexit will become the rule rather than the exception. In the American case, the challenge for the Republican Party after the election will be to find a balance between representing the far right and the need to build a broader base of support rather than doom it to becoming a radical outsider voice, ideologically pure but impotent and unable to implement its promises.

As the American political landscape changes, the next election cycle may prove to be the Republican Party’s last chance to be a mover of events rather than&nbsp;have its hand forced by developments outside its influence and control. Trumpism is not about Trump. Having two parties with diverse and inclusive bases is crucial, lest we see Donald Trump become a mere prelude to a far greater political turmoil. 
 
(Matthew Kolasa is an attorney and journalist. )

(This article was originally published on Fair Observer. Read the <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/donald-trump-republican-party-american-election-headlines-89332/">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

The challenge for the Republican Party will be to find a balance between representing the far right and the need to build a broader base

By Matthew Kolasa The world’s eyes are on Donald Trump, but something much more profound is going on in America. The maverick Republican presidential nominee is but a symptom of a schism within the party sure to remain unresolved after the election. Trump has opportunistically seized on a power vacuum to win the party’s nomination with a campaign founded less on any specific policy agenda—“Everything is negotiable,” he has publicly declared—than on intuition and mastery of attracting publicity on television and social media to build a cult of personality. The Trump phenomenon is not about Donald Trump. After President Barack Obama won re-election with a comfortable margin over Mitt Romney in 2012, Republicans could agree on one thing—that they urgently and desperately needed a radical change in strategy. While President George W. Bush could attract Spanish-speaking voters in 2000 and 2004, Republicans have seen declines in support among an increasingly large and influential Latino-Hispanic community. Women are less likely than before to vote for Republicans. Asian-Americans, a fast-growing demographic some call a natural “good fit” for the Republican Party, are flocking to the Democratic Party faster than any other group. The Grand Old Party (GOP) risks becoming uncompetitive. THE SOUL OF THE PARTY If the problem is easy to identify, the solution has proven elusive. The many factions that once formed the Republican “big tent” have begun demanding a say in the future of the new GOP. Libertarians have sought greater influence with their laissez-faire domestic agenda and isolationist foreign policy with champions like Ron and Rand Paul. The extreme rightist Freedom Caucus has made manifest its disdain for party leadership, unseating powerful figures like Majority Leader Eric Cantor in once-sleepy primary contests. Moderates have sought compromise, with Speaker Paul Ryan negotiating an uneasy truce that has likely ended with his denouncement of Trump. Will the new GOP keep its old social values or move with changing attitudes on capital punishment, gay marriage and abortion? Will it keep its economic agenda or support social welfare programs? What of immigration? The schism is a battle for the party’s soul. This is the underlying reason a populist like Donald Trump can abscond with the nomination. There were 17 candidates, including popular governors and senators, seeking the party’s mantle without direction from the establishment. Contrast this with Secretary Clinton, who effectively won her party’s nomination contest long before it began. Republicans knew they had a problem and had four years to pick a direction and a champion to lead them. Conservatives say, elect a true conservative and the base will rise up, while moderates insist that only a broader appeal can save the party. There have been internal battles before, but this is a level of dysfunction unseen in modern American history. A NEW WORLD ORDER Many Americans are living in fear and confusion, their lives and livelihoods shaped by tectonic forces they do not understand. Trade deals, market speculation, bailouts and migration are complex phenomena that leave those with stagnant wages and rising costs of living scrambling for a leader to champion them. This led some Democrats to support Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who vowed to fight against free trade and Wall Street. On the Republican side, Trump has blamed immigrants, unpatriotic corporations and weakness in the face of China, Mexico and Japan for America’s ills. This fear and uncertainty manifested itself in Europe as well, with radical rightists and leftists gaining unexpected seats in parliaments across the continent. Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) came from a variety of grievances, from discontent with Prime Minister David Cameron, to opposition to immigration from Central and Eastern Europe, to a belief that Britain merely subsidises poorer EU countries. The press has labelled these various protests against the world order “populism”—a term that belies the complexity of the issues the world faces and the difficulty world leaders have in helping those left behind, whether the victims of urban blight, or coal miners in Appalachia, or unemployed factory workers in northeast England. One can argue these voters have become tribal, seeking one of their own to put their interests above those of other groups, but there is another way of understanding it: globalisation and government policies have resulted in winners and losers, and those who have gained little in recent decades see no reason to listen to economists’ arguments on the benefits of free trade, immigration or other reforms, no matter how compelling the evidence or the moral arguments. While racism and xenophobia form an unfortunate part of the debate, these forces will only grow stronger if leaders ignore legitimate grievances. If they are ignored, Trumpism and Brexit will become the rule rather than the exception. In the American case, the challenge for the Republican Party after the election will be to find a balance between representing the far right and the need to build a broader base of support rather than doom it to becoming a radical outsider voice, ideologically pure but impotent and unable to implement its promises. As the American political landscape changes, the next election cycle may prove to be the Republican Party’s last chance to be a mover of events rather than have its hand forced by developments outside its influence and control. Trumpism is not about Trump. Having two parties with diverse and inclusive bases is crucial, lest we see Donald Trump become a mere prelude to a far greater political turmoil. (Matthew Kolasa is an attorney and journalist. ) (This article was originally published on Fair Observer. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The Republican Party Beyond Trump

Russia mounted a campaign of &quot;propaganda on steroids&quot; seeking to influence the 2016 US &nbsp;presidential election, the top Democrat on the US Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday, listing several areas of concern about possible links to Republican Donald Trump&#39;s campaign.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin again denied that Russia tried to influence the election, but in doing so he made reference to the wrong US&nbsp;president in answering a question at an Arctic forum.

&quot;Once, Reagan, while discussing, I think, taxes, told the Americans: &#39;Read my lips: &lsquo;No!&rsquo;&quot;

His reply recalled what George HW&nbsp;Bush told Americans during his 1988 presidential election campaign, &quot;Read my lips: No new taxes.&quot;

Trump has dismissed suggestions of links with Moscow as Democratic Party sour grapes about his surprise November defeat of the party&#39;s candidate, Hillary Clinton. US&nbsp;intelligence agencies said Russia hacked emails of senior Democrats and orchestrated the release of embarrassing information to hurt Clinton&#39;s campaign.

&quot;I will not prejudge the outcome of our investigation,&quot; Senator Mark Warner told an intelligence committee hearing on the allegations. &quot;We are seeking to determine if there is an actual fire, but so far there is a great, great deal of smoke.&quot;

Putin also said on Thursday that contacts Russian diplomats had made in the United States were merely part of routine work.

At the hearing, lawmakers warned of the danger that Russia could interfere in elections in France and Germany this year and in future US campaigns. Cyber security experts at the rare day-long public hearing detailed what they described as the dissemination of disinformation and cyber attacks on both Democratic political operatives and Republicans.

Lawmakers and cyber experts mentioned stories that were being spread to discredit German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And they said Britain&#39;s &quot;Brexit&quot; vote last year on leaving the European Union should be examined.

Clinton Watts, a security consultant and former FBI agent, told Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican committee member, that he may have been a victim of Russian activity during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination against Trump.

Rubio later said he would not comment. But he told the hearing that in July 2016, after he announced he would run for re-election to the Senate, former members of his presidential campaign team were targeted by an unsuccessful cyber attack from Russia.

He said former campaign staffers were also targeted unsuccessfully from within Russia within the past 24 hours.

&nbsp;

&#39;Capable Adversary&#39;

&quot;We&#39;re all targets of a sophisticated and capable adversary,&quot; said Senator Richard Burr, a Republican who heads the intelligence committee.

Democrat Warner, who was a technology executive before entering politics, described a sweeping Russian campaign using trolls and botnets, or networks of hacked or infected devices, to spread large amounts of disinformation.

The campaign of &quot;fake news&quot; was particularly targeted at traditionally Democratic-leaning states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trump defeated Clinton by narrow margins that were not predicted by opinion polls, he said.

&quot;This Russian &#39;propaganda on steroids&#39; was designed to poison the national conversation in America,&quot; Warner said.

Citing concerns to be addressed in the committee&#39;s probe, Warner listed the prediction by a Trump associate about the release of hacked emails weeks before they were released, a change in the Republican Party&#39;s platform to water down language on Ukraine, and Trump&#39;s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and other Trump associates being forced to step down over ties to Russia.

A separate investigation in the House of Representatives into the intelligence agencies&#39; allegations of a Russian role in the US election has become mired in controversy over accusations that its Republican chairman, Trump ally Devin Nunes, is not impartial.

Nunes and Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House committee, met on Thursday to discuss their investigation. Schiff said the two had discussed obtaining documents before deciding which witnesses to call in.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that two White House officials played a role in providing Nunes with documents the Republican committee chairman cited to show Trump and his associates were swept up in surveillance by US intelligence.

Trump said Nunes&#39; comments about the surveillance helped justify his insistence, made without evidence, that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower in New York, his campaign headquarters.

(Reuters)

Putin said on Thursday that contacts Russian diplomats had made in the United States were merely part of routine work

Russia mounted a campaign of "propaganda on steroids" seeking to influence the 2016 US presidential election, the top Democrat on the US Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday, listing several areas of concern about possible links to Republican Donald Trump's campaign. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin again denied that Russia tried to influence the election, but in doing so he made reference to the wrong US president in answering a question at an Arctic forum. "Once, Reagan, while discussing, I think, taxes, told the Americans: 'Read my lips: ‘No!’" His reply recalled what George HW Bush told Americans during his 1988 presidential election campaign, "Read my lips: No new taxes." Trump has dismissed suggestions of links with Moscow as Democratic Party sour grapes about his surprise November defeat of the party's candidate, Hillary Clinton. US intelligence agencies said Russia hacked emails of senior Democrats and orchestrated the release of embarrassing information to hurt Clinton's campaign. "I will not prejudge the outcome of our investigation," Senator Mark Warner told an intelligence committee hearing on the allegations. "We are seeking to determine if there is an actual fire, but so far there is a great, great deal of smoke." Putin also said on Thursday that contacts Russian diplomats had made in the United States were merely part of routine work. At the hearing, lawmakers warned of the danger that Russia could interfere in elections in France and Germany this year and in future US campaigns. Cyber security experts at the rare day-long public hearing detailed what they described as the dissemination of disinformation and cyber attacks on both Democratic political operatives and Republicans. Lawmakers and cyber experts mentioned stories that were being spread to discredit German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And they said Britain's "Brexit" vote last year on leaving the European Union should be examined. Clinton Watts, a security consultant and former FBI agent, told Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican committee member, that he may have been a victim of Russian activity during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination against Trump. Rubio later said he would not comment. But he told the hearing that in July 2016, after he announced he would run for re-election to the Senate, former members of his presidential campaign team were targeted by an unsuccessful cyber attack from Russia. He said former campaign staffers were also targeted unsuccessfully from within Russia within the past 24 hours. 'Capable Adversary' "We're all targets of a sophisticated and capable adversary," said Senator Richard Burr, a Republican who heads the intelligence committee. Democrat Warner, who was a technology executive before entering politics, described a sweeping Russian campaign using trolls and botnets, or networks of hacked or infected devices, to spread large amounts of disinformation. The campaign of "fake news" was particularly targeted at traditionally Democratic-leaning states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trump defeated Clinton by narrow margins that were not predicted by opinion polls, he said. "This Russian 'propaganda on steroids' was designed to poison the national conversation in America," Warner said. Citing concerns to be addressed in the committee's probe, Warner listed the prediction by a Trump associate about the release of hacked emails weeks before they were released, a change in the Republican Party's platform to water down language on Ukraine, and Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and other Trump associates being forced to step down over ties to Russia. A separate investigation in the House of Representatives into the intelligence agencies' allegations of a Russian role in the US election has become mired in controversy over accusations that its Republican chairman, Trump ally Devin Nunes, is not impartial. Nunes and Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House committee, met on Thursday to discuss their investigation. Schiff said the two had discussed obtaining documents before deciding which witnesses to call in. The New York Times reported on Thursday that two White House officials played a role in providing Nunes with documents the Republican committee chairman cited to show Trump and his associates were swept up in surveillance by US intelligence. Trump said Nunes' comments about the surveillance helped justify his insistence, made without evidence, that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower in New York, his campaign headquarters. (Reuters)

Russian 'propaganda on steroids' aimed at 2016 US election: Lawmaker

Twelve days and almost three million ballots later, US President-elect Donald Trump is still the winner of the presidential election in Wisconsin, state officials said Monday following a recount.

Republican Trump won the Midwestern state by more than 22,000 votes in November, a margin that increased by 131 votes following the recount, according to preliminary statewide totals announced by Wisconsin&#39;s election commission.&nbsp;

Third-party candidate Jill Stein a former Green Party candidate--&nbsp;who received about one per cent of the vote -- had spearheaded efforts to force recounts in Wisconsin as well as in Michigan and Pennsylvania.&nbsp;

The three states were crucial to Trump&#39;s victory in the presidential contest.&nbsp;

Trump, who had previously derided recount efforts as &quot;a waste of time,&quot; took to Twitter after the new Wisconsin tally was announced.

&quot;The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what -- we just picked up an additional 131 votes,&quot; the real estate tycoon wrote. &quot;The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!&quot;&nbsp;

Wisconsin -- a swing state that had voted Democratic in the past several presidential elections prior to 2016 -- started recounting its ballots on December 1 to meet the Tuesday deadline for certifying the vote.&nbsp;

The Wisconsin recount &quot;was never about changing the outcome; it was about validating the vote and restoring confidence in our voting system to Americans across the country who have doubt,&quot; Stein said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;The recount in Wisconsin raised a number of important election integrity issues that bear further assessment and serious action to ensure we have integrity and confidence in our electoral system.&quot;&nbsp;

Fundraising efforts collected more than $7 million to pay for the recounts, which Stein said were necessary to address voting system cybersecurity issues.&nbsp;

On Monday a federal judge rejected Stein&#39;s initiative to secure a recount in Pennsylvania. Trump&#39;s lawyers had filed suit there seeking to deny Stein&#39;s request.

Recount efforts were also thwarted in Michigan after another federal judge halted that drive, citing a lack of evidence that fraud or errors had occurred.&nbsp;

Stein has criticised the pushback from the Trump camp and his supporters, and said a partial recount in Michigan revealed &quot;numerous red flags.&quot;&nbsp;

(AFP)

Wisconsin's election commission stated, Trump won more than 22,000 votes in November a margin that increased by 131 votes after the recount

Twelve days and almost three million ballots later, US President-elect Donald Trump is still the winner of the presidential election in Wisconsin, state officials said Monday following a recount. Republican Trump won the Midwestern state by more than 22,000 votes in November, a margin that increased by 131 votes following the recount, according to preliminary statewide totals announced by Wisconsin's election commission. Third-party candidate Jill Stein a former Green Party candidate-- who received about one per cent of the vote -- had spearheaded efforts to force recounts in Wisconsin as well as in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The three states were crucial to Trump's victory in the presidential contest. Trump, who had previously derided recount efforts as "a waste of time," took to Twitter after the new Wisconsin tally was announced. "The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what -- we just picked up an additional 131 votes," the real estate tycoon wrote. "The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!" Wisconsin -- a swing state that had voted Democratic in the past several presidential elections prior to 2016 -- started recounting its ballots on December 1 to meet the Tuesday deadline for certifying the vote. The Wisconsin recount "was never about changing the outcome; it was about validating the vote and restoring confidence in our voting system to Americans across the country who have doubt," Stein said in a statement. "The recount in Wisconsin raised a number of important election integrity issues that bear further assessment and serious action to ensure we have integrity and confidence in our electoral system." Fundraising efforts collected more than $7 million to pay for the recounts, which Stein said were necessary to address voting system cybersecurity issues. On Monday a federal judge rejected Stein's initiative to secure a recount in Pennsylvania. Trump's lawyers had filed suit there seeking to deny Stein's request. Recount efforts were also thwarted in Michigan after another federal judge halted that drive, citing a lack of evidence that fraud or errors had occurred. Stein has criticised the pushback from the Trump camp and his supporters, and said a partial recount in Michigan revealed "numerous red flags." (AFP)

Finished recount confirms Trump victory in Wisconsin

Never in the US history, and perhaps in the modern history of any developed nation, a candidate was elected to the top political office in a circumstance like the one in which Donald Trump got elected. It was utterly negative, acrimonious and ugly.&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton received about 200,000 more popular votes than Trump.&nbsp; Yet, Trump is the winner due to the weird and archaic electoral college system. Trump also got less popular votes than either John McCain or Mitt Romney but he still won because a big number of voters, particularly democratic supporters, didn&#39;t turn up because of their distaste for the candidates.&nbsp;

There was something more than just race and gender in this American election. White women voted 53 per cent for Trump and 43 per cent for Hillary. Also, 8 per cent of Blacks and&nbsp; 29 per cent of Latinos voted for Trump. In both these cases the percentages of vote are marginally more than what Mitt Romney - the gentleman republican - won in 2012. The democratic blue wall in the north east and mid west crumbled. Unbelievably Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan went to Trump. The House of Representative and Senate also went to the republican way.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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A closer look in the political trends of the western world in the post-2008 global economic crisis reveals certain interest patterns. And then within these patterns there are country specific variations. Joseph Stieglitz once showed that globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world; rather they actually lost out significantly in manufacturing and some service sector jobs. The vast middle class became increasingly angry and impatient. Moreover, politicians,&nbsp; especially from the center left failed to address their concerns as they have done in the past. This explains the strategic part of the unpopularity of socialist French president Francois Hollande, electoral failures of UK&rsquo;s left leaning Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and now the failure of Hillary Clinton.&nbsp;

Hillary&rsquo;s case though was a bit more complex than this. She wanted to ride a &lsquo;first ever female&nbsp; president&#39; juggernaut , which wasn&rsquo;t quite there in reality. It perhaps existed only in the perception of the liberals. The folks in the US who supported Hillary ahead of Bernie just because of her gender should have learned their lesson from the failure of French politician Segoline Royale who lost the presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy about a decade back.

Too much discussion on mobilising African-American and Latinos openly by pro-Hillary liberal media seem to have created a majority white backlash particularly among the less educated blue collar ones. Moreover, not much mobilisation took place among the black voters who are generally disinterested in electoral politics. Florida is a case in point. Barack Obama&rsquo;s candidacy in last two elections had an extraordinary emotional value to the black community and they went out in drove to vote for him. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn&rsquo;t energise them enough to come out en masse for her.&nbsp;

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Also, there was this sense of dislike of Hillary among the electorate like Trump. And instead of choosing between two bad candidates a huge percentage of voters decided to stay home on the election day. The African American and Latino/ Hispanic were no exception. Overall voter&rsquo;s turnout percentage was way lesser this time than the recent past elections.&nbsp;

Tactically, the decision of Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s campaign to stick to the Obama coalition formula&nbsp; i.e. targeting liberals, minorities and women was wrong. Former president Bill Clinton rightly advised the campaign to divert enough effort to address the concerns of the angry working class white voters of the key battle ground and some blue wall states . But the campaign didn&rsquo;t pay heed to his thoughtful advice and went on to capitalise on Trump&rsquo;s flaws. They failed to assess the gravity of the reverse current fueled by economic discontents. Hillary was perceived as the establishment&#39;s favoured status quo candidate who won&rsquo;t change anything for the working class.&nbsp;

Trump&rsquo;s smear campaign and WikiLeak&rsquo;s&nbsp; revelations about her ties with the corporate world deepened the suspicion of the middle-class people who yearned for rapid economic changes despite gradual recovery under popular and outgoing Obama. Hillary&rsquo;s campaign failed to counter the perception of her as a shrewd status quo career politician of three decade marred with alleged corruptions, irregularities and controversies.&nbsp;

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<h5>Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way.</h5>
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Trump actually had worse controversies and disqualifications and there is hardly any guarantee that he would actually be able to do anything for the American working class in this inescapable economic reality of the globalised word. But his raw communication and newcomer to politics impression have resonated well with the crucial working class Americans of the swing states who saw their jobs flew to Asia and Latin America and economic well being vanished. Trump&rsquo;s anti-immigration card also fitted well in America First campaign scheme. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way.

The world has coped with Saudi Wahhabi kings, Zionist of Israel, Ayatollahs of Iran , brutal communist tyrants , genocidal African leaders, Islamist military dictators of Pakistan and Hindutva administration of India and so on. We will probably fund a way to cohabit with Trump&rsquo;s America. Adaptability is a great survival trait after all. Moreover American system still have enough checks to limit the vicious instinct of Trump. It would be be interesting to watch whether he actually comes of age after this divisive election win, becomes more responsible and do something constructive to the USA and the rest of the world.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Hillary was perceived as the establishment's favoured status quo candidate who won?t change anything for the working class

Never in the US history, and perhaps in the modern history of any developed nation, a candidate was elected to the top political office in a circumstance like the one in which Donald Trump got elected. It was utterly negative, acrimonious and ugly. Hillary Clinton received about 200,000 more popular votes than Trump. Yet, Trump is the winner due to the weird and archaic electoral college system. Trump also got less popular votes than either John McCain or Mitt Romney but he still won because a big number of voters, particularly democratic supporters, didn't turn up because of their distaste for the candidates. There was something more than just race and gender in this American election. White women voted 53 per cent for Trump and 43 per cent for Hillary. Also, 8 per cent of Blacks and 29 per cent of Latinos voted for Trump. In both these cases the percentages of vote are marginally more than what Mitt Romney - the gentleman republican - won in 2012. The democratic blue wall in the north east and mid west crumbled. Unbelievably Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan went to Trump. The House of Representative and Senate also went to the republican way. Globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world × A closer look in the political trends of the western world in the post-2008 global economic crisis reveals certain interest patterns. And then within these patterns there are country specific variations. Joseph Stieglitz once showed that globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world; rather they actually lost out significantly in manufacturing and some service sector jobs. The vast middle class became increasingly angry and impatient. Moreover, politicians, especially from the center left failed to address their concerns as they have done in the past. This explains the strategic part of the unpopularity of socialist French president Francois Hollande, electoral failures of UK’s left leaning Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and now the failure of Hillary Clinton. Hillary’s case though was a bit more complex than this. She wanted to ride a ‘first ever female president' juggernaut , which wasn’t quite there in reality. It perhaps existed only in the perception of the liberals. The folks in the US who supported Hillary ahead of Bernie just because of her gender should have learned their lesson from the failure of French politician Segoline Royale who lost the presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy about a decade back. Too much discussion on mobilising African-American and Latinos openly by pro-Hillary liberal media seem to have created a majority white backlash particularly among the less educated blue collar ones. Moreover, not much mobilisation took place among the black voters who are generally disinterested in electoral politics. Florida is a case in point. Barack Obama’s candidacy in last two elections had an extraordinary emotional value to the black community and they went out in drove to vote for him. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn’t energise them enough to come out en masse for her. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn’t energise them enough to come out en masse for her. × Also, there was this sense of dislike of Hillary among the electorate like Trump. And instead of choosing between two bad candidates a huge percentage of voters decided to stay home on the election day. The African American and Latino/ Hispanic were no exception. Overall voter’s turnout percentage was way lesser this time than the recent past elections. Tactically, the decision of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to stick to the Obama coalition formula i.e. targeting liberals, minorities and women was wrong. Former president Bill Clinton rightly advised the campaign to divert enough effort to address the concerns of the angry working class white voters of the key battle ground and some blue wall states . But the campaign didn’t pay heed to his thoughtful advice and went on to capitalise on Trump’s flaws. They failed to assess the gravity of the reverse current fueled by economic discontents. Hillary was perceived as the establishment's favoured status quo candidate who won’t change anything for the working class. Trump’s smear campaign and WikiLeak’s revelations about her ties with the corporate world deepened the suspicion of the middle-class people who yearned for rapid economic changes despite gradual recovery under popular and outgoing Obama. Hillary’s campaign failed to counter the perception of her as a shrewd status quo career politician of three decade marred with alleged corruptions, irregularities and controversies. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way. × Trump actually had worse controversies and disqualifications and there is hardly any guarantee that he would actually be able to do anything for the American working class in this inescapable economic reality of the globalised word. But his raw communication and newcomer to politics impression have resonated well with the crucial working class Americans of the swing states who saw their jobs flew to Asia and Latin America and economic well being vanished. Trump’s anti-immigration card also fitted well in America First campaign scheme. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way. The world has coped with Saudi Wahhabi kings, Zionist of Israel, Ayatollahs of Iran , brutal communist tyrants , genocidal African leaders, Islamist military dictators of Pakistan and Hindutva administration of India and so on. We will probably fund a way to cohabit with Trump’s America. Adaptability is a great survival trait after all. Moreover American system still have enough checks to limit the vicious instinct of Trump. It would be be interesting to watch whether he actually comes of age after this divisive election win, becomes more responsible and do something constructive to the USA and the rest of the world.

Trump's Ascendancy: How did it happen?

Trump&rsquo;s transition team is having a hard time filling its seats and his campaign call to&nbsp;&quot;drain the swamp&quot; of Washington might make the process even more difficult.

According to a First Post report Trump&#39;s credo&nbsp;plan would ban all executive-branch officials from lobbying for five years after leaving their government jobs. The policy is aimed at checking the influence of lobbyists.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The ban also applies to the transition team members charged with helping to find, vet and hire for the incoming Republican administration,&quot; Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said late Wednesday according to the&nbsp;First Post report.&nbsp;

There is also conflicting information on whether JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co (JPM.N) chief executive Jamie Dimon could become the next US treasury secretary in President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s cabinet, and this has pushed the nation&rsquo;s largest bank into uncertainty.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, tweets from Fox Business News reporters indicated that Dimon was still in the race for the job. Fortune, however, reported that Dimon has formally told the Trump transition team that he is not interested in being the treasury secretary.

JPMorgan spokespeople have not made any official comment.

While a Trump transition team source told Reuters that Dimon is &quot;pitching hard&quot; for the Treasury role,&nbsp;two other sources indicated that he is not interested.&nbsp;

The speculations over his departure have put JPMorgan&rsquo;s investors in a state of frenzy. Dimon has run JPMorgan for a decade and is viewed as a torchbearer for Wall Street. He does not have a clear successor.

&quot;He is one of the best CEOs in the industry and corporate America, so if there were to be a quick departure that would be troubling,&quot; Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Management, which owns&nbsp;JPMorgan shares told Reuters. &quot;It is very difficult to replace someone like him.&quot;

&nbsp;

Education secretary

US media also reports&nbsp;that Trump is considering west Michigan donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos&nbsp;for the position of education secretary.&nbsp;

According to The Detroit News,the 58-year-old billionaire power broker has strong political connections and is rooting for charter schools and vouchers which, proponents claim, give parents and students more freedom to seek a higher-quality education. Critics on the other hand view charter schools as an effort to privatise education at the expense of public schools.

&ldquo;As chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos was a driving force behind a failed 2000 ballot proposal that would have amended the Michigan Constitution to create a voucher system allowing taxpayer funds to follow students to nonpublic schools,&rdquo;&nbsp;the Detroit News said in one of its reports.

The report also cited federal records showing that&nbsp;DeVos donated more than $320,000 to the Republican Party, candidates and political organizations in 2016. The Detroit News&nbsp;added, however, that she did not contribute to Trump after giving to both former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina during the GOP primary.

Trumo has said that he wants to invest $200 billion in school choice and he might consider eliminating or significantly reducing the size of the department of&nbsp;education.&nbsp;

(WION)

 
&nbsp;

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly turns down Treasury secretary post; Michigan mega donor Betsy DeVos rumoured for education secretary

Trump’s transition team is having a hard time filling its seats and his campaign call to "drain the swamp" of Washington might make the process even more difficult. According to a First Post report Trump's credo plan would ban all executive-branch officials from lobbying for five years after leaving their government jobs. The policy is aimed at checking the influence of lobbyists. “The ban also applies to the transition team members charged with helping to find, vet and hire for the incoming Republican administration," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said late Wednesday according to the First Post report. There is also conflicting information on whether JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) chief executive Jamie Dimon could become the next US treasury secretary in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, and this has pushed the nation’s largest bank into uncertainty. On Wednesday, tweets from Fox Business News reporters indicated that Dimon was still in the race for the job. Fortune, however, reported that Dimon has formally told the Trump transition team that he is not interested in being the treasury secretary. JPMorgan spokespeople have not made any official comment. While a Trump transition team source told Reuters that Dimon is "pitching hard" for the Treasury role, two other sources indicated that he is not interested. The speculations over his departure have put JPMorgan’s investors in a state of frenzy. Dimon has run JPMorgan for a decade and is viewed as a torchbearer for Wall Street. He does not have a clear successor. "He is one of the best CEOs in the industry and corporate America, so if there were to be a quick departure that would be troubling," Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Management, which owns JPMorgan shares told Reuters. "It is very difficult to replace someone like him." Education secretary US media also reports that Trump is considering west Michigan donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos for the position of education secretary. According to The Detroit News,the 58-year-old billionaire power broker has strong political connections and is rooting for charter schools and vouchers which, proponents claim, give parents and students more freedom to seek a higher-quality education. Critics on the other hand view charter schools as an effort to privatise education at the expense of public schools. “As chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos was a driving force behind a failed 2000 ballot proposal that would have amended the Michigan Constitution to create a voucher system allowing taxpayer funds to follow students to nonpublic schools,” the Detroit News said in one of its reports. The report also cited federal records showing that DeVos donated more than $320,000 to the Republican Party, candidates and political organizations in 2016. The Detroit News added, however, that she did not contribute to Trump after giving to both former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina during the GOP primary. Trumo has said that he wants to invest $200 billion in school choice and he might consider eliminating or significantly reducing the size of the department of education. (WION)

Trump's transition team struggles to find takers to 'drain the swamp'

US President-elect Donald Trump appointed his White House chief of staff and chief strategist and senior counsellor on Sunday.&nbsp;

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus will serve as White House chief of staff and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, Stephen K Bannon as Trump&#39;s chief strategist and senior counsellor.&nbsp;

Bannon stepped down to become Trump&nbsp;campaign chief.

Priebus, who is close to House speaker Paul Ryan, may help bridge the gap between the Republican Party and Trump.

&ldquo;I am thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country,&rdquo; Trump said.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory. Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.&rdquo;

&nbsp;Bannon and Priebus will work with vice president-elect Mike Pence with the transition process.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Priebus, who is close to House speaker Paul Ryan, may help bridge the gap between the Republican Party and Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump appointed his White House chief of staff and chief strategist and senior counsellor on Sunday. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus will serve as White House chief of staff and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, Stephen K Bannon as Trump's chief strategist and senior counsellor. Bannon stepped down to become Trump campaign chief. Priebus, who is close to House speaker Paul Ryan, may help bridge the gap between the Republican Party and Trump. “I am thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country,” Trump said. “Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory. Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.” Bannon and Priebus will work with vice president-elect Mike Pence with the transition process. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Trump names Priebus White House chief of staff, Bannon chief strategist

Hillary Clinton blamed FBI director James Comey for losing the US presidential elections, for re-opening the investigation of Clinton&#39;s emails.&nbsp;

According to local media, Clinton told fundraisers and donors that Comey&#39;s letters just days before the November 8 election tilted the favor towards Trump. &nbsp;

&quot;There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful,&quot; AFP quoted the Democrat nominee saying.&nbsp;

&quot;But our analysis is that Jim Comey&#39;s letter raising doubts that were groundless (and) baseless -- and proven to be -- stopped our momentum.&quot;

&nbsp;Comey, just two weeks before the election, in a letter to the Congress said the FBI was re-opening the investigation and another letter just three days of the election saying the FBI could not determine any wrongdoing on her part.&nbsp;

The probe reminded Americans about the controversy and raised doubts while strengthening Donald Trump&#39;s anti-Clinton position.&nbsp;

&quot;After the third debate we felt so good about where we were,&quot; Clinton said. Trump, then was lagging behind Hillary, with allegations of sexual assault and racial rhetoric marring his campaign.&nbsp;

The campaign analysis &quot;showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back.&quot;

However, Comey&#39;s letter damaged the momentum so close to the election that it could not be &quot;overcome.&quot;

The FBI director received a lot of flak for reopening the probe so close to elections and without knowing if the new emails were relevant.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Clinton told fundraisers and donors that the two letters written by Comey raised doubts and stopped the momentum

Hillary Clinton blamed FBI director James Comey for losing the US presidential elections, for re-opening the investigation of Clinton's emails. According to local media, Clinton told fundraisers and donors that Comey's letters just days before the November 8 election tilted the favor towards Trump. "There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful," AFP quoted the Democrat nominee saying. "But our analysis is that Jim Comey's letter raising doubts that were groundless (and) baseless -- and proven to be -- stopped our momentum." Comey, just two weeks before the election, in a letter to the Congress said the FBI was re-opening the investigation and another letter just three days of the election saying the FBI could not determine any wrongdoing on her part. The probe reminded Americans about the controversy and raised doubts while strengthening Donald Trump's anti-Clinton position. "After the third debate we felt so good about where we were," Clinton said. Trump, then was lagging behind Hillary, with allegations of sexual assault and racial rhetoric marring his campaign. The campaign analysis "showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back." However, Comey's letter damaged the momentum so close to the election that it could not be "overcome." The FBI director received a lot of flak for reopening the probe so close to elections and without knowing if the new emails were relevant. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Hillary Clinton blames FBI director for loss

US President-elect Donald Trump put Mike Pence in charge of White House transition team along with three of his five children and son-in-law.&nbsp;

Christie will continue as vice chair of the transition effort and was left out as he copes with the &#39;Bridgegate&#39; lane closure scandal.&nbsp;

The announcement was made after a meeting at Trump Tower in New York City as Trump&#39;s aides begin the process of selecting candidates for some of the 4,000 jobs.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s eldest daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, along with sons Eric and Donald Jr. will look into the transition process while managing his business empire.&nbsp;

The business mogul&#39;s company said this will not breach conflict-of-interest laws.&nbsp;

New candidates emerge

Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor is now a favourite for the position of Attorney General, which Christie was earlier considered for.&nbsp;

Giuliani said he was happy to advise Trump but did not comment if he would take the position.&nbsp;

&quot;I can see already how he is going to be a great president and I&#39;m glad I could play a small role in it,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Since Trump&#39;s surprise win over Democrat nominee and rival Hillary Clinton, candidates such as Sarah Palin, David Malpass, former state department official are open to joining his administration.&nbsp;

According to Trump aides, Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chairman and Steve Bannon, the campaign&#39;s CEO are the top contenders for White House chief of staff.&nbsp;

Trump does not have a lot of options, as many Republicans fiercely opposed and condemned his policies and comments.&nbsp;

He will most likely choose his strongest supporters for the important positions and according to campaign sources, Alabama senator, Jeff Sessions could be considered for defense secretary, Newt Gingrich as secretary of state and retired General Michael Flynn as national security adviser.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

New Jersey governor Chris Christie was dropped by president-elect Trump as he deals with the 'Bridgegate' lane closure scandal

US President-elect Donald Trump put Mike Pence in charge of White House transition team along with three of his five children and son-in-law. Christie will continue as vice chair of the transition effort and was left out as he copes with the 'Bridgegate' lane closure scandal. The announcement was made after a meeting at Trump Tower in New York City as Trump's aides begin the process of selecting candidates for some of the 4,000 jobs. Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, along with sons Eric and Donald Jr. will look into the transition process while managing his business empire. The business mogul's company said this will not breach conflict-of-interest laws. New candidates emerge Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor is now a favourite for the position of Attorney General, which Christie was earlier considered for. Giuliani said he was happy to advise Trump but did not comment if he would take the position. "I can see already how he is going to be a great president and I'm glad I could play a small role in it," he said. Since Trump's surprise win over Democrat nominee and rival Hillary Clinton, candidates such as Sarah Palin, David Malpass, former state department official are open to joining his administration. According to Trump aides, Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chairman and Steve Bannon, the campaign's CEO are the top contenders for White House chief of staff. Trump does not have a lot of options, as many Republicans fiercely opposed and condemned his policies and comments. He will most likely choose his strongest supporters for the important positions and according to campaign sources, Alabama senator, Jeff Sessions could be considered for defense secretary, Newt Gingrich as secretary of state and retired General Michael Flynn as national security adviser. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Trump puts Pence in charge of transition team

US President-elect Donald Trump told business daily&nbsp;the Wall Street Journal that he will consider an &quot;amended&quot; Obamacare on Friday.&nbsp;

The sudden shift comes after his meeting with President Barack Obama, who asked him to reconsider abolishing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).&nbsp;

&quot;Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,&quot; Trump told the business daily.&nbsp;

&quot;I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

According to WSJ, Trump approved banning insurance companies which denied consumers coverage on the basis of so-called pre-existing conditions.&nbsp;

He also agreed with another Obamacare clause, which requires&nbsp;insurance companies to cover children on their parents insurance policies until the age of 26.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Obamacare is Obama&#39;s legacy and during campaigning, Trump pledged to remove the law if he was elected president.&nbsp; (Getty)
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&nbsp;

Trump also appeared to be committed on his promises of bringing jobs back through improved international trade deals and massive infrastructure investment, besides focusing on defeating Islamic State.

&quot;I want a country that loves each other. I want to stress that,&quot; Trump said in his first interview after winning the November 8 presidential elections, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton after mounting one of the most divisive campaigns in recent memory.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The US president-elect's statement to Wall Street Journal comes after he had dubbed the insurance plan a 'disaster' during his poll campaign

US President-elect Donald Trump told business daily the Wall Street Journal that he will consider an "amended" Obamacare on Friday. The sudden shift comes after his meeting with President Barack Obama, who asked him to reconsider abolishing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced," Trump told the business daily. "I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that," he added. According to WSJ, Trump approved banning insurance companies which denied consumers coverage on the basis of so-called pre-existing conditions. He also agreed with another Obamacare clause, which requires insurance companies to cover children on their parents insurance policies until the age of 26. Obamacare is Obama's legacy and during campaigning, Trump pledged to remove the law if he was elected president. (Getty) × Trump also appeared to be committed on his promises of bringing jobs back through improved international trade deals and massive infrastructure investment, besides focusing on defeating Islamic State. "I want a country that loves each other. I want to stress that," Trump said in his first interview after winning the November 8 presidential elections, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton after mounting one of the most divisive campaigns in recent memory. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Donald Trump open to keeping certain parts of Obamacare

Donald Trump&#39;s election as US president poses risks for the relationship between the European Union and the United States, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday.

The shock winner of Tuesday&#39;s US election was ignorant of the EU and its workings, Juncker told students at a conference in Luxembourg which can be viewed on the EU&#39;s website.

&quot;The election of Trump poses the risk of upsetting intercontinental relations in their foundation and in their structure,&quot; said Juncker, who as head of the EU&#39;s executive is one of Europe&#39;s most powerful political figures.

His blunt remarks reflected widespread shock and concern among Europeans at the election of Trump, who among other statements has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and questioned the principle of collective defence in NATO.

His comments contrasted with the more diplomatic reactions of European leaders who have said they look forward to working with the next Republican president.

Juncker warned against the &quot;pernicious&quot; consequences of Trump&#39;s statements on security policy. He also recalled a Trump statement in which he seemed to think that Belgium, the country that hosts the headquarters of the EU and NATO, was a city.

&quot;We will need to teach the president-elect what Europe is and how it works,&quot; Juncker said, adding that Americans usually had no interest in Europe.

&quot;I think we will waste two years before Mr Trump tours the world he does not know,&quot; said Juncker, who on Thursday had already raised doubts about Trump&#39;s views on global trade, climate policy and Western security.

&nbsp;

(Reuters)

EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker raised questions regarding Trump's views on global trade, climate policy and security policy

Donald Trump's election as US president poses risks for the relationship between the European Union and the United States, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday. The shock winner of Tuesday's US election was ignorant of the EU and its workings, Juncker told students at a conference in Luxembourg which can be viewed on the EU's website. "The election of Trump poses the risk of upsetting intercontinental relations in their foundation and in their structure," said Juncker, who as head of the EU's executive is one of Europe's most powerful political figures. His blunt remarks reflected widespread shock and concern among Europeans at the election of Trump, who among other statements has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and questioned the principle of collective defence in NATO. His comments contrasted with the more diplomatic reactions of European leaders who have said they look forward to working with the next Republican president. Juncker warned against the "pernicious" consequences of Trump's statements on security policy. He also recalled a Trump statement in which he seemed to think that Belgium, the country that hosts the headquarters of the EU and NATO, was a city. "We will need to teach the president-elect what Europe is and how it works," Juncker said, adding that Americans usually had no interest in Europe. "I think we will waste two years before Mr Trump tours the world he does not know," said Juncker, who on Thursday had already raised doubts about Trump's views on global trade, climate policy and Western security. (Reuters)

Juncker: Trump detrimental to US-EU ties

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate who lost the Primaries to Hillary Clinton, made an official statement in response&nbsp;to the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.

The Daily Beast reporter Colin Jones carried Sanders&#39; statement in a Tweet.

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Bernie: &quot;To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/WmTFV1TvRi">pic.twitter.com/WmTFV1TvRi</a>
&mdash; Colin Jones (@colinjones) <a href="https://twitter.com/colinjones/status/796498877373448192">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The full text of the statement reads:&nbsp;

&quot;Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment politics and the&nbsp;establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids -&nbsp;all while the very rich become much richer.

&quot;To the degree to which Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working class families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he purses racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.&quot;

&nbsp;

Would Bernie have beaten Trump?

Sanders, according to polls, was poised to beat Trump in a head to head race. Why didn&#39;t the two face off, then?

A WikiLeaks dump from only this past weekend suggests&nbsp;the Democratic Party <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-suggests-bernie-sanders-was-blackmailed-during-democratic-primary-8536">blackmailed Bernie Sanders</a> during the Primaries.

In a May&nbsp;interview with CNBC he spoke about the potential isolating effects of extreme wealth after being&nbsp;asked what the impact of Clinton&#39;s wealth could be on her policy making decisions.

According to a released email whose authenticity the&nbsp;Democrats never denied, Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook, who had the quote brought to his attention by a staffer, said: &quot;This isn&#39;t in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?&quot;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-suggests-bernie-sanders-was-blackmailed-during-democratic-primary-8536">Another WikiLeaks revelation</a> was that the Democratic National Committee actively conspired against Bernie Sanders to favour Hillary Clinton.

The Democrats have much explaining to do. &nbsp;

But at a time when politicians and media may&nbsp;go&nbsp;from&nbsp;snubbing Donald Trump to cosying up to him when&nbsp;he&#39;s president,&nbsp;Sanders appears determined to&nbsp;stand&nbsp;up for his beliefs,&nbsp;and&nbsp;willing to denounce&nbsp;his adversaries when necessary.

At least there doesn&#39;t seem to be any leverage stopping him from speaking freely&nbsp;now.&nbsp;

(WION)

'To the extent he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him'

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate who lost the Primaries to Hillary Clinton, made an official statement in response to the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. The Daily Beast reporter Colin Jones carried Sanders' statement in a Tweet. Bernie: "To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.” pic.twitter.com/WmTFV1TvRi — Colin Jones (@colinjones) November 9, 2016 × The full text of the statement reads: "Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids - all while the very rich become much richer. "To the degree to which Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working class families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he purses racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him." Would Bernie have beaten Trump? Sanders, according to polls, was poised to beat Trump in a head to head race. Why didn't the two face off, then? A WikiLeaks dump from only this past weekend suggests the Democratic Party blackmailed Bernie Sanders during the Primaries. In a May interview with CNBC he spoke about the potential isolating effects of extreme wealth after being asked what the impact of Clinton's wealth could be on her policy making decisions. According to a released email whose authenticity the Democrats never denied, Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook, who had the quote brought to his attention by a staffer, said: "This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?" Another WikiLeaks revelation was that the Democratic National Committee actively conspired against Bernie Sanders to favour Hillary Clinton. The Democrats have much explaining to do. But at a time when politicians and media may go from snubbing Donald Trump to cosying up to him when he's president, Sanders appears determined to stand up for his beliefs, and willing to denounce his adversaries when necessary. At least there doesn't seem to be any leverage stopping him from speaking freely now. (WION)

US Election 2016: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency

American voters have overwhelmingly chosen Donald Trump as the country&rsquo;s 45th president. It is an unexpected victory. Many political analysts and opinion polls suggested that, despite ups and downs, Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party was on the lead and was thus expected to finally win in the close contest for the presidency.

Republican Party has been in disarray, symptomatic since the rise and spread of the Tea Party Movement. For last years the Democrats have been in the ruling the country from the White House. Secondly, the Republican Party&rsquo;s big wigs walked away from Donald Trump and sent repeated signals that he should expect no help from them in the election. Thirdly, Trump was not able to generate comparable amount of fund to run the election, unlike his main rival. Fourthly, Trump made numerous politically incorrect and socially unacceptable statements against women, physically challenged, undocumented workers from Latin America, African Americans, media houses and, above all, the Muslims.

It was clear that a person with little backing of his main political party, and without any credible administrative and political experience would not be able to garner enough votes to win the presidency. The party machine in the United States and the Washington establishment, controlled by the influential families in that country, would not allow an outsider like Trump to enter the ring. &nbsp; &nbsp;

And yet, the American voters sprang a surprise&mdash;second time since 2008&mdash;and created history by choosing a casino owner and alleged tax evader as their country&rsquo;s commander-in-chief. The post facto analysis and deconstruction of Trump&rsquo;s statements apparently hurtful to many sections of the society can, however, make one understand why the citizens of the United States chose Trump over Hillary Clinton.

First of all, Trump made it clear multiple times that he cannot resort to political correctness in his campaign and he can relate to the common people in the country. He wanted to seek the support of those who have felt marginalised over the decades and have been left high and dry by the forces of globalisation championed by the successive administrations. He spoke a language that struck a cord the hearts of millions in the country. He spoke against free trade agreements, supported protectionist policies to generate jobs, promised job creation, and expressed his intense desire to fix a &ldquo;rigged system&rdquo; in the country.

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&nbsp;

Secondly, Trump&rsquo;s idea of constructing a wall along the US-Mexican border quickly found support among those who had lost their jobs to Mexican low paid workers. Many criticised him for making racial statements against Mexicans, but he soon met with the Mexican President that cleared misunderstanding.

While a large number of cabinet-ranking officials who served earlier Republican presidents expressed their doubt over trusting Trump with the country&rsquo;s nuclear buttons, Trump fought back by asking for explanations as to why the United States would keep subsidising the security of Japan, South Korea and many other countries without adequate financial contributions by them.

He vehemently challenged the Obama administration&rsquo;s soft nuclear deal with Iran, which, according to him, made Tehran richer and enabled Iran to keep the option of building the nuclear bomb after fifteen years. He lamented its adverse effect on America&rsquo;s trusted ally in the Middle East, Israel. &nbsp;

Thirdly, the war weary American masses, fed up with the so-called war against Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa, took no objection to Trump&rsquo;s hardline position against prospective Muslim refugees or immigrants. Trump was aware that millions of Muslims are American citizens and some of them serve in government and military as well. He was not targeting them, but those who would try to emigrate from troubled spots in the Islamic World and some of whom could be sleeper cells.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

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<h5>The war weary American masses, fed up with the so-called war against Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa, took no objection to Trump&rsquo;s hardline position against prospective Muslim refugees or immigrants</h5>
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However, Trump&rsquo;s victory can also be explained by Hillary&rsquo;s weaknesses. When Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated her private emails and then gave her clean chit, the Democratic Party felt assuaged. But the American public thought that she was under a criminal investigation any way. She was leading by more than 10 percentage votes when the FBI revealed investigation of several more lakhs of Clinton&rsquo;s email and her lead drastically reduced to a point of no return even after she got another clearance at the last moment. Allegation of corruption in Clinton Foundation was another blow to Hillary.&nbsp;

Hillary has one of the best of bio-data in the country, yet suspected compromise on national security, alleged corruption, her silence over sex scandals involving her husband all perhaps weighed heavily against her and to the advantage to Trump.

Now the Americans and the world have no options but to work with the Trump administration for coming four years. A different personality of Trump was on display when he gave his victory speech. He repented the hurtful campaign period, gave call for national unity, promised prosperity and jobs through construction activities and, of course, showed his readiness to work with other nations in a spirit of cooperation.&nbsp;

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India need not worry at all about the Trump administration. While Hillary knew India too well, Trump has said in so many words his desire to work with India. He would inherit a foreign policy marked by serious cold confrontation between the United States and China, difficult US-Russian differences over events in Eurasia and the Middle East, slow recovery of the economies of Washington&rsquo;s Trans-Atlantic partners, the continuing US boots on Afghan soil and the ravaging war against ISIS.&nbsp;

India is actually a positive story for the United States. Its economy growing fast, its market is expanding, Indo-US strategic partnership is robust and the two countries would have to do a lot together to shape the order in the Indo-Pacific region. The point where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump need to converge is the ways and means of handling terrorism. India continues to be a victim of cross-border terrorism and the US has continued to wage war against terrorism. What is required is more coordination, better cooperation and strong determination.&nbsp;

Trump did not resort to political correctness in his election campaign but could connect common people in the country

American voters have overwhelmingly chosen Donald Trump as the country’s 45th president. It is an unexpected victory. Many political analysts and opinion polls suggested that, despite ups and downs, Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party was on the lead and was thus expected to finally win in the close contest for the presidency. Republican Party has been in disarray, symptomatic since the rise and spread of the Tea Party Movement. For last years the Democrats have been in the ruling the country from the White House. Secondly, the Republican Party’s big wigs walked away from Donald Trump and sent repeated signals that he should expect no help from them in the election. Thirdly, Trump was not able to generate comparable amount of fund to run the election, unlike his main rival. Fourthly, Trump made numerous politically incorrect and socially unacceptable statements against women, physically challenged, undocumented workers from Latin America, African Americans, media houses and, above all, the Muslims. It was clear that a person with little backing of his main political party, and without any credible administrative and political experience would not be able to garner enough votes to win the presidency. The party machine in the United States and the Washington establishment, controlled by the influential families in that country, would not allow an outsider like Trump to enter the ring. And yet, the American voters sprang a surprise—second time since 2008—and created history by choosing a casino owner and alleged tax evader as their country’s commander-in-chief. The post facto analysis and deconstruction of Trump’s statements apparently hurtful to many sections of the society can, however, make one understand why the citizens of the United States chose Trump over Hillary Clinton. First of all, Trump made it clear multiple times that he cannot resort to political correctness in his campaign and he can relate to the common people in the country. He wanted to seek the support of those who have felt marginalised over the decades and have been left high and dry by the forces of globalisation championed by the successive administrations. He spoke a language that struck a cord the hearts of millions in the country. He spoke against free trade agreements, supported protectionist policies to generate jobs, promised job creation, and expressed his intense desire to fix a “rigged system” in the country. He wanted to seek the support of those who have felt marginalised over the decades and have been left high and dry by the forces of globalisation × Secondly, Trump’s idea of constructing a wall along the US-Mexican border quickly found support among those who had lost their jobs to Mexican low paid workers. Many criticised him for making racial statements against Mexicans, but he soon met with the Mexican President that cleared misunderstanding. While a large number of cabinet-ranking officials who served earlier Republican presidents expressed their doubt over trusting Trump with the country’s nuclear buttons, Trump fought back by asking for explanations as to why the United States would keep subsidising the security of Japan, South Korea and many other countries without adequate financial contributions by them. He vehemently challenged the Obama administration’s soft nuclear deal with Iran, which, according to him, made Tehran richer and enabled Iran to keep the option of building the nuclear bomb after fifteen years. He lamented its adverse effect on America’s trusted ally in the Middle East, Israel. Thirdly, the war weary American masses, fed up with the so-called war against Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa, took no objection to Trump’s hardline position against prospective Muslim refugees or immigrants. Trump was aware that millions of Muslims are American citizens and some of them serve in government and military as well. He was not targeting them, but those who would try to emigrate from troubled spots in the Islamic World and some of whom could be sleeper cells. The war weary American masses, fed up with the so-called war against Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa, took no objection to Trump’s hardline position against prospective Muslim refugees or immigrants × However, Trump’s victory can also be explained by Hillary’s weaknesses. When Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated her private emails and then gave her clean chit, the Democratic Party felt assuaged. But the American public thought that she was under a criminal investigation any way. She was leading by more than 10 percentage votes when the FBI revealed investigation of several more lakhs of Clinton’s email and her lead drastically reduced to a point of no return even after she got another clearance at the last moment. Allegation of corruption in Clinton Foundation was another blow to Hillary. Hillary has one of the best of bio-data in the country, yet suspected compromise on national security, alleged corruption, her silence over sex scandals involving her husband all perhaps weighed heavily against her and to the advantage to Trump. Now the Americans and the world have no options but to work with the Trump administration for coming four years. A different personality of Trump was on display when he gave his victory speech. He repented the hurtful campaign period, gave call for national unity, promised prosperity and jobs through construction activities and, of course, showed his readiness to work with other nations in a spirit of cooperation. A different personality of Trump was on display when he gave his victory speech. × India need not worry at all about the Trump administration. While Hillary knew India too well, Trump has said in so many words his desire to work with India. He would inherit a foreign policy marked by serious cold confrontation between the United States and China, difficult US-Russian differences over events in Eurasia and the Middle East, slow recovery of the economies of Washington’s Trans-Atlantic partners, the continuing US boots on Afghan soil and the ravaging war against ISIS. India is actually a positive story for the United States. Its economy growing fast, its market is expanding, Indo-US strategic partnership is robust and the two countries would have to do a lot together to shape the order in the Indo-Pacific region. The point where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump need to converge is the ways and means of handling terrorism. India continues to be a victim of cross-border terrorism and the US has continued to wage war against terrorism. What is required is more coordination, better cooperation and strong determination.

Donald Trump?s unexpected victory

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont.

Donald Trump is projected to win traditional Republican strongholds Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia, while Hillary Clinton is projected to bag Vermont.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, polling has closed in crucial swing states --&nbsp;Florida and Virginia.

Early reports indicate that it is tight between the two presidential contenders in Florida and Virginia.

(WION)

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump brace for election outcome after voting closes in some states

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont. Donald Trump is projected to win traditional Republican strongholds Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia, while Hillary Clinton is projected to bag Vermont. Meanwhile, polling has closed in crucial swing states -- Florida and Virginia. Early reports indicate that it is tight between the two presidential contenders in Florida and Virginia. (WION)

Live US election 2016: Trump leads in Indiana, Kentucky; Clinton ahead in Vermont and Virginia

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont.

As of 7 pm EST (5.30 am Indian Standard Time),&nbsp;Donald Trump leads 65 per cent to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton&#39;s 31&nbsp;per cent in Indiana, with 3.6 per cent votes counted.

In Kentucky, Trump enjoys nearly 35 per cent lead over Clinton.

Clinton, meanwhile, is projected to win Vermont.

Indiana and Kentucky are traditional Republican strongholds.

In New Hampshire, with one per cent votes counted, Trump has bagged 52.5 per cent of votes, while Hillary Clinton has 41 per cent.

(WION)

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump brace for election outcome after voting closes in Indiana & Kentucky

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont. As of 7 pm EST (5.30 am Indian Standard Time), Donald Trump leads 65 per cent to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's 31 per cent in Indiana, with 3.6 per cent votes counted. In Kentucky, Trump enjoys nearly 35 per cent lead over Clinton. Clinton, meanwhile, is projected to win Vermont. Indiana and Kentucky are traditional Republican strongholds. In New Hampshire, with one per cent votes counted, Trump has bagged 52.5 per cent of votes, while Hillary Clinton has 41 per cent. (WION)

Live US election 2016: Trump leads in Indiana, Kentucky; Clinton ahead in Vermont

Iran&#39;s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the US&nbsp;election results would have no effect on Tehran&#39;s policies, state news agency IRNA quoted him as 
saying, noting that Iran&#39;s expanding economic ties with the world were irreversible.

&quot;The results of the US&nbsp;election have no effect on the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran,&quot; Rouhani said.

&quot;Iran&#39;s policy for constructive engagement with the world and the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions have made our economic relations with all countries expanding and irreversible.&quot;

He added that Iran&#39;s nuclear deal with six world powers has been reflected in a United Nation Security Council resolution and cannot be dismissed by one government.

US&nbsp;President-elect Donald Trump should stay committed to the international nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Wednesday.

&quot;The United States should fulfill its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal) as a multilateral international agreement,&quot; Zarif was quoted as saying while on a visit to Romania.

Rouhani said there was &quot;no possibility&quot; of its nuclear deal with world powers being overturned by US president-elect Donald Trump despite his threat to rip it up.

&quot;Iran&#39;s understanding in the nuclear deal was that the accord was not concluded with one country or government but was approved by a resolution of the UN Security Council and there is no possibility that it can be changed by a single government,&quot; Rouhani told his cabinet, according to state television.

Last year&#39;s accord with world powers saw international sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for guarantees that it would not pursue a nuclear weapons capability.&nbsp; 
During the election campaign, Trump described the deal as &quot;disastrous&quot; and said it would be his &quot;number one priority&quot; to dismantle it.

&quot;The United States no longer has the capacity to create Iranophobia and to create a consensus against Iran,&quot; Rouhani said.

&quot;The constructive engagement policies of Iran towards the world, and the fact that international sanctions have been lifted, have placed the Iranian economy on a road where there is no possibility of going backwards.&quot;

(Agencies)

Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers has been reflected in a UNSC resolution and cannot be dismissed by one government, he said

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the US election results would have no effect on Tehran's policies, state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying, noting that Iran's expanding economic ties with the world were irreversible. "The results of the US election have no effect on the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Rouhani said. "Iran's policy for constructive engagement with the world and the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions have made our economic relations with all countries expanding and irreversible." He added that Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers has been reflected in a United Nation Security Council resolution and cannot be dismissed by one government. US President-elect Donald Trump should stay committed to the international nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Wednesday. "The United States should fulfill its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal) as a multilateral international agreement," Zarif was quoted as saying while on a visit to Romania. Rouhani said there was "no possibility" of its nuclear deal with world powers being overturned by US president-elect Donald Trump despite his threat to rip it up. "Iran's understanding in the nuclear deal was that the accord was not concluded with one country or government but was approved by a resolution of the UN Security Council and there is no possibility that it can be changed by a single government," Rouhani told his cabinet, according to state television. Last year's accord with world powers saw international sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for guarantees that it would not pursue a nuclear weapons capability. During the election campaign, Trump described the deal as "disastrous" and said it would be his "number one priority" to dismantle it. "The United States no longer has the capacity to create Iranophobia and to create a consensus against Iran," Rouhani said. "The constructive engagement policies of Iran towards the world, and the fact that international sanctions have been lifted, have placed the Iranian economy on a road where there is no possibility of going backwards." (Agencies)

Iran's Rouhani says Trump election has no effect on Tehran policies

The Mexican peso collapsed after Republican Donald Trump defied predictions and beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to take the US presidency in a maverick victory that wreaked havoc in global markets on Wednesday.

Trump&#39;s threats to rip up a free trade agreement with Mexico and tax money sent home by migrants to pay for building a wall on the southern US border once elected president have made the peso particularly reactive to events in the race for the White House.

The peso weakened by more than 13 per cent in after-market trading for Mexico and in Wednesday trading in Asia, breaking past 20 pesos per dollar - its biggest fall since the 1994 Tequila Crisis.

The peso pared losses to trade around 8.5 per cent weaker at 19.875 per dollar early on Wednesday, after Clinton conceded to Trump in a phone call. Mexico&#39;s central bank has called a joint press conference with the Finance ministry for 0700 local time (0800 EST/1300GMT).

&quot;There&#39;s a lot of panic in the market, it is definitely an outcome it was not expecting,&quot; said Juan Carlos Alderete, a strategist at Banorte-IXE. &quot;The movements are very strong, the market is showing higher risk aversion in search of safe-haven assets.&quot;

Three economists told Reuters they expected the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate by an impromptu 75 to 150 basis points on Wednesday if Trump wins, while one of them said the bank could instead opt for a swap with the US Federal Reserve depending how the Peso evolves.

&quot;I don&#39;t think a Trump scenario was taken seriously in the last days by the market. Hopefully there are some contingency plans by authorities and they can take measures to protect the Mexican economy,&quot; said Ernesto Revilla, an economist at Banamex and the government&#39;s former chief economist.

Mexican central bank head Agustin Carstens last week said the country was ready in case of an &quot;adverse&quot; result in the US election, which he has said could hit Mexico like a &quot;hurricane.&quot;

Mexico has foreign reserves of $175.3 billion, and Carstens said last month he would consider using a $90 billion International Monetary Fund flexible credit line &quot;in the event of an external shock.&quot;

The central bank has already hiked its rate three times this year, lifting it to 4.75 per cent to anchor inflation expectations following a sharp depreciation of the Peso.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Mexican currency had rallied nearly 1.4 per cent before official election results began to be released, as final polls showed a Clinton advantage.

Volatility in the Mexican peso surged to its highest level since the global financial crisis in 2008. One-month implied volatility, which measures the currency&#39;s anticipated trading range over the period, jumped to 40 per cent from 27 per cent late Tuesday.

&quot;This is truly a historic moment. I don&#39;t recall such an extreme outlook on the US economy that could be so negative to the Mexican economy,&quot; said Benito Berber, an analyst at Nomura in New York.

Berber said a Trump win could drive the peso to between 23 and 26 per dollar.

(Reuters)

The peso weakened by more than 13 per cent in after-market trading for Mexico

The Mexican peso collapsed after Republican Donald Trump defied predictions and beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to take the US presidency in a maverick victory that wreaked havoc in global markets on Wednesday. Trump's threats to rip up a free trade agreement with Mexico and tax money sent home by migrants to pay for building a wall on the southern US border once elected president have made the peso particularly reactive to events in the race for the White House. The peso weakened by more than 13 per cent in after-market trading for Mexico and in Wednesday trading in Asia, breaking past 20 pesos per dollar - its biggest fall since the 1994 Tequila Crisis. The peso pared losses to trade around 8.5 per cent weaker at 19.875 per dollar early on Wednesday, after Clinton conceded to Trump in a phone call. Mexico's central bank has called a joint press conference with the Finance ministry for 0700 local time (0800 EST/1300GMT). "There's a lot of panic in the market, it is definitely an outcome it was not expecting," said Juan Carlos Alderete, a strategist at Banorte-IXE. "The movements are very strong, the market is showing higher risk aversion in search of safe-haven assets." Three economists told Reuters they expected the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate by an impromptu 75 to 150 basis points on Wednesday if Trump wins, while one of them said the bank could instead opt for a swap with the US Federal Reserve depending how the Peso evolves. "I don't think a Trump scenario was taken seriously in the last days by the market. Hopefully there are some contingency plans by authorities and they can take measures to protect the Mexican economy," said Ernesto Revilla, an economist at Banamex and the government's former chief economist. Mexican central bank head Agustin Carstens last week said the country was ready in case of an "adverse" result in the US election, which he has said could hit Mexico like a "hurricane." Mexico has foreign reserves of $175.3 billion, and Carstens said last month he would consider using a $90 billion International Monetary Fund flexible credit line "in the event of an external shock." The central bank has already hiked its rate three times this year, lifting it to 4.75 per cent to anchor inflation expectations following a sharp depreciation of the Peso. Earlier on Tuesday, the Mexican currency had rallied nearly 1.4 per cent before official election results began to be released, as final polls showed a Clinton advantage. Volatility in the Mexican peso surged to its highest level since the global financial crisis in 2008. One-month implied volatility, which measures the currency's anticipated trading range over the period, jumped to 40 per cent from 27 per cent late Tuesday. "This is truly a historic moment. I don't recall such an extreme outlook on the US economy that could be so negative to the Mexican economy," said Benito Berber, an analyst at Nomura in New York. Berber said a Trump win could drive the peso to between 23 and 26 per dollar. (Reuters)

US election 2016: Mexican peso tumbles as Trump wins US presidency

Donald Trump&#39;s stunning performance in the US presidential election triggered shock and angst in Asia, where observers fretted over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change.

Although the race remained too close to call, Trump has won key states in the nail-biter against Hillary Clinton, building momentum as large numbers of American voters shrugged off concerns over the billionaire&#39;s temperament and lack of experience.

Trump&#39;s rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, restricting immigration, dismissing climate change, and otherwise disengaging from the rest of the world.&nbsp;

In often hushed scenes, viewers at election-watching events around Asia stared at giant screens tallying the returns as they digested the impact of Trump possibly heading the world&#39;s most powerful nation.

Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia -- the world&#39;s most populous Muslim country -- said she was particularly concerned by Trump&#39;s calls to temporarily ban from Muslims from countries with a history of terror ties.

&quot;As a Muslim I feel very uncomfortable if Trump wins. He has always been anti-Muslim and I am afraid he will discriminate against Muslims,&quot; said Sugiyo, a member of a leading Indonesian moderate Muslim organisation.

&quot;The United States is a multicultural country and there are a lot of Muslims there, so this is very terrifying,&quot; she said at a US embassy event in Jakarta.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/uselection2016/">Click here for detailed coverage of the US election &gt;&gt;</a>

&nbsp;&#39;Dangerous&#39; for the planet&nbsp;

Financial markets registered their concern, with Tokyo&#39;s main index tumbling 5.5 per cent, leading regional stocks mostly downward.

Trump&rsquo;s tirades against global free trade were a big concern, said Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

&quot;The world is globalising and if the US, which is one of the economic powerhouses, is going to put up walls, I don&#39;t see that as good for the world economy,&rdquo; she said.

&quot;They can practically slow down economic growth for everybody. He is a businessman. He should know better.&quot;

Greenpeace Southeast Asia&rsquo;s executive director Yeb Sano said he was struggling to understand how Trump, who has threatened to &ldquo;cancel&rdquo; the historic UN pact struck last year to address climate change, could win.

&ldquo;In the context of a lot of other things happening around the world right now, it would be fair to ask: &ldquo;What have we become?,&rdquo; Sano said.

&ldquo;On climate change, clearly this is a massive blow to our prospects of progress and hope that the Paris Agreement had given us.&rdquo;

At election events around the region, American Democratic supporters gradually deflated throughout Wednesday morning, while Republicans were buoyed.

Bradley Jordan, a retired 59-year-old Californian in Bangkok, said a Trump win would &quot;throw the whole world upside down.&quot;

&quot;It&rsquo;s dangerous for the planet. If Trump wins, we will do nothing about climate change and the planet will be screwed. I just can&rsquo;t believe this is happening right now,&quot; he said, adding that he may renounce his US citizenship.

Even some Republicans expressed surprise.

&quot;To be honest we didn&#39;t really think he would win. The polls have all been quite clear,&quot; Kym Kettler-Paddock, a US Republican, said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

She said Trump&#39;s outsider status was bound to increase uncertainty abroad in the short-term over what type of president he would be.

&quot;I think after that transition period it would settle down,&quot; she added.

But Amanda Mohar, the vice chair of Democrats Abroad Hong Kong, said the overseas fears are justified given Trump&#39;s calls to tear up international agreements he doesn&#39;t like.

&quot;His instability up to this point has made his administration very unpredictable. We have no idea if he says he&#39;s going to review all of our treaties, if he&#39;s actually going to do that,&quot; Gohar said, adding that he would be a &quot;dangerous person&quot; in office.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

With Donald Trump set to win, markets took a tumble with Tokyo's main index coming by 5.5 per cent

Donald Trump's stunning performance in the US presidential election triggered shock and angst in Asia, where observers fretted over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change. Although the race remained too close to call, Trump has won key states in the nail-biter against Hillary Clinton, building momentum as large numbers of American voters shrugged off concerns over the billionaire's temperament and lack of experience. Trump's rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, restricting immigration, dismissing climate change, and otherwise disengaging from the rest of the world. In often hushed scenes, viewers at election-watching events around Asia stared at giant screens tallying the returns as they digested the impact of Trump possibly heading the world's most powerful nation. Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim country -- said she was particularly concerned by Trump's calls to temporarily ban from Muslims from countries with a history of terror ties. "As a Muslim I feel very uncomfortable if Trump wins. He has always been anti-Muslim and I am afraid he will discriminate against Muslims," said Sugiyo, a member of a leading Indonesian moderate Muslim organisation. "The United States is a multicultural country and there are a lot of Muslims there, so this is very terrifying," she said at a US embassy event in Jakarta. Click here for detailed coverage of the US election >> 'Dangerous' for the planet Financial markets registered their concern, with Tokyo's main index tumbling 5.5 per cent, leading regional stocks mostly downward. Trump’s tirades against global free trade were a big concern, said Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. "The world is globalising and if the US, which is one of the economic powerhouses, is going to put up walls, I don't see that as good for the world economy,” she said. "They can practically slow down economic growth for everybody. He is a businessman. He should know better." Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s executive director Yeb Sano said he was struggling to understand how Trump, who has threatened to “cancel” the historic UN pact struck last year to address climate change, could win. “In the context of a lot of other things happening around the world right now, it would be fair to ask: “What have we become?,” Sano said. “On climate change, clearly this is a massive blow to our prospects of progress and hope that the Paris Agreement had given us.” At election events around the region, American Democratic supporters gradually deflated throughout Wednesday morning, while Republicans were buoyed. Bradley Jordan, a retired 59-year-old Californian in Bangkok, said a Trump win would "throw the whole world upside down." "It’s dangerous for the planet. If Trump wins, we will do nothing about climate change and the planet will be screwed. I just can’t believe this is happening right now," he said, adding that he may renounce his US citizenship. Even some Republicans expressed surprise. "To be honest we didn't really think he would win. The polls have all been quite clear," Kym Kettler-Paddock, a US Republican, said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. She said Trump's outsider status was bound to increase uncertainty abroad in the short-term over what type of president he would be. "I think after that transition period it would settle down," she added. But Amanda Mohar, the vice chair of Democrats Abroad Hong Kong, said the overseas fears are justified given Trump's calls to tear up international agreements he doesn't like. "His instability up to this point has made his administration very unpredictable. We have no idea if he says he's going to review all of our treaties, if he's actually going to do that," Gohar said, adding that he would be a "dangerous person" in office. (AFP)

US Election 2016: Shock and angst in Asia as Trump rises

Donald Trump is leading in three states: Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire.

Updates to follow

(WION)

Donald Trump is leading in three states: Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire. Updates to follow (WION)

Live US election 2016: Trump leads in Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire

Polling stations opened Tuesday as the first ballots were cast in the long-awaited election pitting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump.

Voters in nine states got the&nbsp;first crack at electing the new president, with the rest of the country due to get started later in the day.

The polls were open in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump gave US voters a stark choice between her vision of unity and his promise to take back power from Washington&#39;s corrupt elites.

On the final day of the &nbsp;presidential campaign that has left a bemused world looking on in concern for its greatest power, Trump doubled down on his unabashed appeal to popular resentment.

The Democrat Clinton has had sharp words for her rival, a 70-year-old property tycoon who seized the conservative Republican Party and turned it into a vehicle for his populist bombast, but she ended the race pleading for unity. 
&nbsp;

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<h5>&#39;It&#39;s time to fight for America. I&#39;m not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you,&#39; Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and &#39;bring back&#39; jobs&nbsp;</h5>
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&nbsp;

Some 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in states that allow early voting, and tens of millions more will turn out on Tuesday for what is shaping up to be a historic clash.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s time to fight for America. I&#39;m not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you,&quot; Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and &quot;bring back&quot; jobs.&nbsp;

&quot;But the years of betrayal will end -- they will end and they&#39;re going to end quickly. They&#39;re going to end as of the day we take office, which is going to be very, very soon.&quot;

Clinton went into Election Day as the favorite to become the first US woman president after spending eight years in the White House as the first lady in the 1990s.

A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 per cent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 electoral college votes out of 270 needed, to Trump&#39;s 235.

But the campaign has been bruising -- she has been dogged by allegations that she put US secrets at risk on her private email server while at the State Department and the race remains perilously close in a handful of key states.&nbsp;

Trump advisers said the level of his support was not apparent in the polling and believed the New York businessman was in position for an upset victory along the lines of the &quot;Brexit&quot; vote in June to pull Britain from the European Union.

&quot;We have seen enormous momentum,&quot; said deputy Trump campaign manager Dave Bossie.

Support for Trump dropped after footage emerged of him bragging about sexual assault and at least a dozen women came forward to accuse him, but polls have tightened as the big day approaches.

But a Clinton win in votes casts will mean nothing if she does not win the electoral college, fending off a last-ditch Trump bid to secure Florida and poach North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada or New Hampshire.

Last-day blitz&nbsp;

As Election Day approached -- to the relief of the many voters left cold by the long drawn-out slog through the political mud -- both candidates maintained break-neck schedules.

Clinton made stops in three battleground states, and deployed President Barack Obama as cheerleader-in-chief in another, before they were to join up at a star-studded grand finale in Philadelphia.

&quot;The world is watching us right now. This is one of those moments. Don&#39;t let it slip away,&quot; Obama said in New Hampshire.

Trump sneered at Clinton&#39;s choice of pop stars -- Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga -- to attract the crowds, and stuck to his stump speech, each new version slightly more aggressive than the last. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&quot;This election will decide whether we are ruled by a corrupt political class, you&#39;re seeing what&#39;s happening. Everybody is watching. Or whether we are ruled by the people,&quot; he declared.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re going to be ruled by the people, folks. That is going to be the choice. Our failed political establishment has delivered nothing but poverty, nothing but problems, nothing but losses.

&quot;It&#39;s time to reject the media and political elite that has bled our country dry,&quot; he declared, pointing to the press pen at his event, and whipping up cries of &quot;Drain the swamp!&quot; from his fervent supporters.

Market rally&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s vow to rip up America&#39;s free trade deals, build a wall on the Mexican border and renegotiate US treaty alliances has spooked world markets seeking stability after the recent global slowdown.

Last week, US stocks as measured by the S&amp;P 500 index fell for nine straight days for the first time since 1980, only to recover a little when the FBI confirmed Clinton would not face prosecution over her emails.

Global stock markets surged on Monday, with Wall Street gaining more than two percent, as hopes for a Clinton victory rose after FBI director James Comey&#39;s weekend announcement that she was in the clear.

The dollar also gained, and analyst Patrick O&#39;Hare of briefing.com said: &quot;You can certainly take for granted from today&#39;s rally that the market seems to like the idea of Mrs. Clinton being elected president.&quot;

(AFP)

Both candidates gave voters a stark choice -- she promised unity, he that he would dethrone Washington's power elite

Polling stations opened Tuesday as the first ballots were cast in the long-awaited election pitting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump. Voters in nine states got the first crack at electing the new president, with the rest of the country due to get started later in the day. The polls were open in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump gave US voters a stark choice between her vision of unity and his promise to take back power from Washington's corrupt elites. On the final day of the presidential campaign that has left a bemused world looking on in concern for its greatest power, Trump doubled down on his unabashed appeal to popular resentment. The Democrat Clinton has had sharp words for her rival, a 70-year-old property tycoon who seized the conservative Republican Party and turned it into a vehicle for his populist bombast, but she ended the race pleading for unity. 'It's time to fight for America. I'm not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you,' Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and 'bring back' jobs × Some 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in states that allow early voting, and tens of millions more will turn out on Tuesday for what is shaping up to be a historic clash. "It's time to fight for America. I'm not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you," Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and "bring back" jobs. "But the years of betrayal will end -- they will end and they're going to end quickly. They're going to end as of the day we take office, which is going to be very, very soon." Clinton went into Election Day as the favorite to become the first US woman president after spending eight years in the White House as the first lady in the 1990s. A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 per cent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 electoral college votes out of 270 needed, to Trump's 235. But the campaign has been bruising -- she has been dogged by allegations that she put US secrets at risk on her private email server while at the State Department and the race remains perilously close in a handful of key states. Trump advisers said the level of his support was not apparent in the polling and believed the New York businessman was in position for an upset victory along the lines of the "Brexit" vote in June to pull Britain from the European Union. "We have seen enormous momentum," said deputy Trump campaign manager Dave Bossie. Support for Trump dropped after footage emerged of him bragging about sexual assault and at least a dozen women came forward to accuse him, but polls have tightened as the big day approaches. But a Clinton win in votes casts will mean nothing if she does not win the electoral college, fending off a last-ditch Trump bid to secure Florida and poach North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada or New Hampshire. Last-day blitz As Election Day approached -- to the relief of the many voters left cold by the long drawn-out slog through the political mud -- both candidates maintained break-neck schedules. Clinton made stops in three battleground states, and deployed President Barack Obama as cheerleader-in-chief in another, before they were to join up at a star-studded grand finale in Philadelphia. "The world is watching us right now. This is one of those moments. Don't let it slip away," Obama said in New Hampshire. Trump sneered at Clinton's choice of pop stars -- Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga -- to attract the crowds, and stuck to his stump speech, each new version slightly more aggressive than the last. "This election will decide whether we are ruled by a corrupt political class, you're seeing what's happening. Everybody is watching. Or whether we are ruled by the people," he declared. "We're going to be ruled by the people, folks. That is going to be the choice. Our failed political establishment has delivered nothing but poverty, nothing but problems, nothing but losses. "It's time to reject the media and political elite that has bled our country dry," he declared, pointing to the press pen at his event, and whipping up cries of "Drain the swamp!" from his fervent supporters. Market rally Trump's vow to rip up America's free trade deals, build a wall on the Mexican border and renegotiate US treaty alliances has spooked world markets seeking stability after the recent global slowdown. Last week, US stocks as measured by the S&P 500 index fell for nine straight days for the first time since 1980, only to recover a little when the FBI confirmed Clinton would not face prosecution over her emails. Global stock markets surged on Monday, with Wall Street gaining more than two percent, as hopes for a Clinton victory rose after FBI director James Comey's weekend announcement that she was in the clear. The dollar also gained, and analyst Patrick O'Hare of briefing.com said: "You can certainly take for granted from today's rally that the market seems to like the idea of Mrs. Clinton being elected president." (AFP)

US election 2016: Polls open in nine states, historic vote pits Clinton against Trump

The United States elects a president every four years and election day is always the first Tuesday of&nbsp;November.

What does it take to qualify for presidentship? You have to be a US citizen by birth, be at least 35-years-old and a US resident for 14 years.

Today&#39;s election will give the United States its 45th president - Democrat Hillary&nbsp;Clinton or Republican&nbsp;Donald Trump.

Polling centre scene

At a polling centre in Brooklyn, New York, voters find out their district, then they get a paper ballot, they get registered and check&nbsp;in. They then move to the polling stations behind to scan their vote and get a sticker saying &#39;I&nbsp;voted&#39;.

&quot;It&#39;s a big decision - first of all a woman president, it&#39;s a big step for the US and I think putting her in office as opposed to Trump makes that difference,&quot; says Janna&nbsp;Ferner-Bell.

&quot;I&#39;m all about Jill Stein. I&#39;m all about the green party. She has integrity, she is smart, the world needs a&nbsp;bigger change,&quot; Karmela&nbsp;Lozina&nbsp;says.

Not all polling centres were quick though - the line in midtown Manhattan stretched out for about two hours. It&#39;s the same location where Donald&nbsp;Trump cast his ballot.

Electoral college

In the United States with the electoral college, you aren&#39;t voting for the president directly, instead you are voting for electors. Those electors will cast the ballot for the president.

So if neither candidate gets the necessary 270 electoral votes, the house of representatives will pick the president and the senate will pick the vice president.

The election process starts at the state level where voters pick a candidate through primaries and caucuses. After this, two major political parties in the US - the Democrats (in blue) and the Republicans (in red) host a nomination convention to unite behind one candidate.

Each nominee also chooses a vice president candidate at this time.

This year, Democratic candidate Hillary&nbsp;Clinton picked Viriginia senator Tim&nbsp;Kaine while Republican candidate Donald&nbsp;Trump chose Indiana governor Mike Pence.

The candidates tour the country through campaign rallies where they explain their views on hot burning issues like domestic policies, foreign policies, the economy, terrorism, gun control, immigration and healthcare.

A&nbsp;lot of states typically are &#39;red&#39; or &#39;blue&#39;&nbsp;states &ndash; but sometimes swing states or &#39;purple&#39;&nbsp;states mean there is equal chance&nbsp;for a Republican or Democratic victory. 
 
When voters cast their ballot, they&nbsp;pick who they want for the country&#39;s top position. These votes represent the popular vote and does not determine the actual winner.

(WION)

With the United States set to get its 45th president, WION explains the process behind the election

The United States elects a president every four years and election day is always the first Tuesday of November. What does it take to qualify for presidentship? You have to be a US citizen by birth, be at least 35-years-old and a US resident for 14 years. Today's election will give the United States its 45th president - Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump. Polling centre scene At a polling centre in Brooklyn, New York, voters find out their district, then they get a paper ballot, they get registered and check in. They then move to the polling stations behind to scan their vote and get a sticker saying 'I voted'. "It's a big decision - first of all a woman president, it's a big step for the US and I think putting her in office as opposed to Trump makes that difference," says Janna Ferner-Bell. "I'm all about Jill Stein. I'm all about the green party. She has integrity, she is smart, the world needs a bigger change," Karmela Lozina says. Not all polling centres were quick though - the line in midtown Manhattan stretched out for about two hours. It's the same location where Donald Trump cast his ballot. Electoral college In the United States with the electoral college, you aren't voting for the president directly, instead you are voting for electors. Those electors will cast the ballot for the president. So if neither candidate gets the necessary 270 electoral votes, the house of representatives will pick the president and the senate will pick the vice president. The election process starts at the state level where voters pick a candidate through primaries and caucuses. After this, two major political parties in the US - the Democrats (in blue) and the Republicans (in red) host a nomination convention to unite behind one candidate. Each nominee also chooses a vice president candidate at this time. This year, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton picked Viriginia senator Tim Kaine while Republican candidate Donald Trump chose Indiana governor Mike Pence. The candidates tour the country through campaign rallies where they explain their views on hot burning issues like domestic policies, foreign policies, the economy, terrorism, gun control, immigration and healthcare. A lot of states typically are 'red' or 'blue' states – but sometimes swing states or 'purple' states mean there is equal chance for a Republican or Democratic victory. When voters cast their ballot, they pick who they want for the country's top position. These votes represent the popular vote and does not determine the actual winner. (WION)

US Election 2016: This is how America votes

In a US presidential election that&#39;s already been out of this world, the lone American astronaut in outer space has cast his vote, NASA said on Monday.

Shane Kimbrough became the latest astronaut to join in a long tradition of voting while floating above the Earth, inside the orbiting International Space Station.

&quot;Current space station resident astronaut Shane Kimbrough is the most recent astronaut to take advantage of the opportunity,&quot; NASA said in a statement.

Since astronauts can already get emails in space, an electronic ballot generated by the Galveston county clerk&#39;s office was emailed to Kimbrough&#39;s secure account at NASA&#39;s Johnson Space Center.

Mission control then transferred the email to the space station, so Kimbrough could make his selections some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth, before sending it back to Texas via secure email.

There was no word from NASA or Kimbrough on which candidate he picked for president.

Kimbrough rode a Russian Soyuz rocket to the ISS on October 19 to start a four-month mission at the research outpost, along with two Russian cosmonauts.

US astronauts have been able to vote from space since 1997, under Texas law. Most astronauts live in the Houston area, home to NASA&#39;s mission control and Johnson Space Center.

The first American to vote from space was David Wolf, who cast his ballot from the Russian space station Mir.

The first US astronaut to vote for a president from space was Leroy Chiao in 2004.

(AFP)

An electronic ballot was emailed to Shane Kimbrough's secure account which NASA then passed on to the International Space Station

In a US presidential election that's already been out of this world, the lone American astronaut in outer space has cast his vote, NASA said on Monday. Shane Kimbrough became the latest astronaut to join in a long tradition of voting while floating above the Earth, inside the orbiting International Space Station. "Current space station resident astronaut Shane Kimbrough is the most recent astronaut to take advantage of the opportunity," NASA said in a statement. Since astronauts can already get emails in space, an electronic ballot generated by the Galveston county clerk's office was emailed to Kimbrough's secure account at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Mission control then transferred the email to the space station, so Kimbrough could make his selections some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth, before sending it back to Texas via secure email. There was no word from NASA or Kimbrough on which candidate he picked for president. Kimbrough rode a Russian Soyuz rocket to the ISS on October 19 to start a four-month mission at the research outpost, along with two Russian cosmonauts. US astronauts have been able to vote from space since 1997, under Texas law. Most astronauts live in the Houston area, home to NASA's mission control and Johnson Space Center. The first American to vote from space was David Wolf, who cast his ballot from the Russian space station Mir. The first US astronaut to vote for a president from space was Leroy Chiao in 2004. (AFP)

US election 2016: Lone American astronaut in space casts his vote

Several counties in North Carolina are experiencing problems with the voting machine, The Charlotte Observer reports.

Optical scanner issues were reported in the following counties of North Carolina &mdash; Cleveland, Gates, Orange, Cumberland, Wake, Craven and Forsyth.

Narth Carolina is one of the crucial battleground states that will decide the fate of US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

There were polling problems reported from Charlotte area as well. Some people said they had to press the button to select Donald Trump at least 10 to 15 times.

North Carolina State Board of Elections has told the counties to revert to paper-based voting systems, BBC reported.

ProPublica has also reported voting problems in&nbsp;New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas and Ohio.

Several states &ndash; particularly Arizona and Florida &ndash; struggled to provide obligatory support to bilingual voters.

The poll glitches come at a time when&nbsp;Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that this year&#39;s election process would be roiled by voter fraud, by dead people voting and stolen votes.

Voters also reported long lines and isolated cases of harassment at polling places.

(WION)

Optical scanner issues were reported in several counties of North Carolina

Several counties in North Carolina are experiencing problems with the voting machine, The Charlotte Observer reports. Optical scanner issues were reported in the following counties of North Carolina — Cleveland, Gates, Orange, Cumberland, Wake, Craven and Forsyth. Narth Carolina is one of the crucial battleground states that will decide the fate of US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. There were polling problems reported from Charlotte area as well. Some people said they had to press the button to select Donald Trump at least 10 to 15 times. North Carolina State Board of Elections has told the counties to revert to paper-based voting systems, BBC reported. ProPublica has also reported voting problems in New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas and Ohio. Several states – particularly Arizona and Florida – struggled to provide obligatory support to bilingual voters. The poll glitches come at a time when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that this year's election process would be roiled by voter fraud, by dead people voting and stolen votes. Voters also reported long lines and isolated cases of harassment at polling places. (WION)

US election 2016: Voting equipment faults reported from North Carolina, New York

Residents of the tiny town of Dixville Notch in the northern part of New Hampshire voted just after midnight on Tuesday (November 8) as one of the first in the United States.

Eight people cast their ballots with 4 votes going to Democrat Hillary Clinton, 2 for Republican Donald Trump and one for the Libertarian Party&#39;s Gary Johnson. A write-in vote was cast for 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who is not running.

The midnight voting tradition started in 1960, by the father of Tom Tillotson, who was the moderator of the 2016 voting session. The tally took only several minutes, and Tillotson shared with Reuters that his vote went to libertarian Johnson.

&quot;I think a very large number of Republicans that basically feel disappointed with the process and the choices we have had, the Democrats didn&#39;t put up a better choice, and that the, I personally think it is a sign for either a third party or one of the other parties has to really remake itself to address where people really are,&quot; he said.

Clayton Smith, who was the first to cast the ballot said that he voted reluctantly for Democratic nominee Clinton.

&quot;Honestly it was the lesser of two evils which is terrible to say, but I am pretty firmly in the not-Trump side of things. And there are a lot of people on the never-Hillary side of things. ButI couldn&#39;t morally consider voting for Trump,&quot; Smith told Reuters.

The voting results in Dixville Notch are not predictive of the result of the general election. In 1960, the town voted in favour of Richard Nixon who lost the race to Democrat John F Kennedy.

In 2012, the town saw a tie between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Romney.

Two other New Hampshire towns, Hart&#39;s Location and Millsfield also had midnight voting sessions on Tuesday, but Dixville Notch got the most media attention with reporters outnumbering voters five-fold.

(Reuters)

 
&nbsp;

Eight people voted with four going to Hillary Clinton, two to Donald Trump, and one to the Libertarian Party

Residents of the tiny town of Dixville Notch in the northern part of New Hampshire voted just after midnight on Tuesday (November 8) as one of the first in the United States. Eight people cast their ballots with 4 votes going to Democrat Hillary Clinton, 2 for Republican Donald Trump and one for the Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson. A write-in vote was cast for 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who is not running. The midnight voting tradition started in 1960, by the father of Tom Tillotson, who was the moderator of the 2016 voting session. The tally took only several minutes, and Tillotson shared with Reuters that his vote went to libertarian Johnson. "I think a very large number of Republicans that basically feel disappointed with the process and the choices we have had, the Democrats didn't put up a better choice, and that the, I personally think it is a sign for either a third party or one of the other parties has to really remake itself to address where people really are," he said. Clayton Smith, who was the first to cast the ballot said that he voted reluctantly for Democratic nominee Clinton. "Honestly it was the lesser of two evils which is terrible to say, but I am pretty firmly in the not-Trump side of things. And there are a lot of people on the never-Hillary side of things. ButI couldn't morally consider voting for Trump," Smith told Reuters. The voting results in Dixville Notch are not predictive of the result of the general election. In 1960, the town voted in favour of Richard Nixon who lost the race to Democrat John F Kennedy. In 2012, the town saw a tie between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Romney. Two other New Hampshire towns, Hart's Location and Millsfield also had midnight voting sessions on Tuesday, but Dixville Notch got the most media attention with reporters outnumbering voters five-fold. (Reuters)

One of first to vote, tiny town of Dixville Notch goes to Clinton

Several counties in North Carolina are experiencing problems with the voting machine, The Charlotte Observer reports.

Optical scanner issues were reported in the following counties of North Carolina &mdash; Cleveland, Gates, Orange, Cumberland, Wake, Craven and Forsyth.

Narth Carolina is one of the crucial battleground states that will decide the fate of US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

There were polling problems reported from Charlotte area as well. Some people said they had to press the button to select Donald Trump at least 10 to 15 times.

North Carolina State Board of Elections has told the counties to revert to paper-based voting systems, BBC reported.

ProPublica has also reported voting problems in&nbsp;New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas and Ohio.

Several states &ndash; particularly Arizona and Florida &ndash; struggled to provide obligatory support to bilingual voters.

The poll glitches come at a time when&nbsp;Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that this year&#39;s election process would be roiled by voter fraud, by dead people voting and stolen votes.

Voters also reported long lines and isolated cases of harassment at polling places.

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Voting machines have been reportedly causing problems in several states on election day

US election 2016: Polling glitches in North Carolina, New York mar voting process

Polling stations opened Tuesday, November 8&nbsp;as the first ballots were cast in the long-awaited US election pitting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump.

The polls first opened in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia early morning on Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump gave US voters a stark choice between her vision of unity and his promise to take back power from Washington&#39;s corrupt elites.

On the final day of the presidential campaign that has left a bemused world looking on in concern for its greatest power, Trump doubled down on his unabashed appeal to popular resentment.

The Democrat Clinton has had sharp words for her rival, a 70-year-old property tycoon who seized the conservative Republican Party and turned it into a vehicle for his populist bombast, but she ended the race pleading for unity.

&#39;It&#39;s time to fight for America. I&#39;m not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you,&#39; Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and &#39;bring back&#39; jobs&nbsp;

Some 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in states that allow early voting, and tens of millions more will turn out on Tuesday for what is shaping up to be a historic clash.

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&quot;But the years of betrayal will end -- they will end and they&#39;re going to end quickly. They&#39;re going to end as of the day we take office, which is going to be very, very soon.&quot;

Clinton went into Election Day as the favorite to become the first US woman president after spending eight years in the White House as the first lady in the 1990s.

A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 per cent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 electoral college votes out of 270 needed, to Trump&#39;s 235.

But the campaign has been bruising -- she has been dogged by allegations that she put US secrets at risk on her private email server while at the State Department and the race remains perilously close in a handful of key states.&nbsp;

Trump advisers said the level of his support was not apparent in the polling and believed the New York businessman was in position for an upset victory along the lines of the &quot;Brexit&quot; vote in June to pull Britain from the European Union.

&quot;We have seen enormous momentum,&quot; said deputy Trump campaign manager Dave Bossie.

Support for Trump dropped after footage emerged of him bragging about sexual assault and at least a dozen women came forward to accuse him, but polls have tightened as the big day approaches.

But a Clinton win in votes casts will mean nothing if she does not win the electoral college, fending off a last-ditch Trump bid to secure Florida and poach North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada or New Hampshire.

Last-day blitz

As Election Day approached -- to the relief of the many voters left cold by the long drawn-out slog through the political mud -- both candidates maintained break-neck schedules.

Clinton made stops in three battleground states, and deployed President Barack Obama as cheerleader-in-chief in another, before they were to join up at a star-studded grand finale in Philadelphia.

&quot;The world is watching us right now. This is one of those moments. Don&#39;t let it slip away,&quot; Obama said in New Hampshire.

Trump sneered at Clinton&#39;s choice of pop stars -- Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga -- to attract the crowds, and stuck to his stump speech, each new version slightly more aggressive than the last. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&quot;This election will decide whether we are ruled by a corrupt political class, you&#39;re seeing what&#39;s happening. Everybody is watching. Or whether we are ruled by the people,&quot; he declared.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re going to be ruled by the people, folks. That is going to be the choice. Our failed political establishment has delivered nothing but poverty, nothing but problems, nothing but losses.

&quot;It&#39;s time to reject the media and political elite that has bled our country dry,&quot; he declared, pointing to the press pen at his event, and whipping up cries of &quot;Drain the swamp!&quot; from his fervent supporters.

Market rally

Trump&#39;s vow to rip up America&#39;s free trade deals, build a wall on the Mexican border and renegotiate US treaty alliances has spooked world markets seeking stability after the recent global slowdown.

Last week, US stocks as measured by the S&amp;P 500 index fell for nine straight days for the first time since 1980, only to recover a little when the FBI confirmed Clinton would not face prosecution over her emails.

Global stock markets surged on Monday, with Wall Street gaining more than two percent, as hopes for a Clinton victory rose after FBI director James Comey&#39;s weekend announcement that she was in the clear.

The dollar also gained, and analyst Patrick O&#39;Hare of briefing.com said: &quot;You can certainly take for granted from today&#39;s rally that the market seems to like the idea of Mrs. Clinton being elected president.&quot;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Clinton and Trump give US voters a stark choice between a vision of unity and a promise made to take back power from Washington respectively

Polling stations opened Tuesday, November 8 as the first ballots were cast in the long-awaited US election pitting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump. The polls first opened in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia early morning on Tuesday. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump gave US voters a stark choice between her vision of unity and his promise to take back power from Washington's corrupt elites. On the final day of the presidential campaign that has left a bemused world looking on in concern for its greatest power, Trump doubled down on his unabashed appeal to popular resentment. The Democrat Clinton has had sharp words for her rival, a 70-year-old property tycoon who seized the conservative Republican Party and turned it into a vehicle for his populist bombast, but she ended the race pleading for unity. 'It's time to fight for America. I'm not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you,' Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and 'bring back' jobs Some 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in states that allow early voting, and tens of millions more will turn out on Tuesday for what is shaping up to be a historic clash. "It's time to fight for America. I'm not a politician, I can say proudly. My only special interest is you," Trump told a raucous crowd, vowing to end free trade, control immigration and "bring back" jobs. × "But the years of betrayal will end -- they will end and they're going to end quickly. They're going to end as of the day we take office, which is going to be very, very soon." Clinton went into Election Day as the favorite to become the first US woman president after spending eight years in the White House as the first lady in the 1990s. A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 per cent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 electoral college votes out of 270 needed, to Trump's 235. But the campaign has been bruising -- she has been dogged by allegations that she put US secrets at risk on her private email server while at the State Department and the race remains perilously close in a handful of key states. Trump advisers said the level of his support was not apparent in the polling and believed the New York businessman was in position for an upset victory along the lines of the "Brexit" vote in June to pull Britain from the European Union. "We have seen enormous momentum," said deputy Trump campaign manager Dave Bossie. Support for Trump dropped after footage emerged of him bragging about sexual assault and at least a dozen women came forward to accuse him, but polls have tightened as the big day approaches. But a Clinton win in votes casts will mean nothing if she does not win the electoral college, fending off a last-ditch Trump bid to secure Florida and poach North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada or New Hampshire. Last-day blitz As Election Day approached -- to the relief of the many voters left cold by the long drawn-out slog through the political mud -- both candidates maintained break-neck schedules. Clinton made stops in three battleground states, and deployed President Barack Obama as cheerleader-in-chief in another, before they were to join up at a star-studded grand finale in Philadelphia. "The world is watching us right now. This is one of those moments. Don't let it slip away," Obama said in New Hampshire. Trump sneered at Clinton's choice of pop stars -- Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga -- to attract the crowds, and stuck to his stump speech, each new version slightly more aggressive than the last. "This election will decide whether we are ruled by a corrupt political class, you're seeing what's happening. Everybody is watching. Or whether we are ruled by the people," he declared. "We're going to be ruled by the people, folks. That is going to be the choice. Our failed political establishment has delivered nothing but poverty, nothing but problems, nothing but losses. "It's time to reject the media and political elite that has bled our country dry," he declared, pointing to the press pen at his event, and whipping up cries of "Drain the swamp!" from his fervent supporters. Market rally Trump's vow to rip up America's free trade deals, build a wall on the Mexican border and renegotiate US treaty alliances has spooked world markets seeking stability after the recent global slowdown. Last week, US stocks as measured by the S&P 500 index fell for nine straight days for the first time since 1980, only to recover a little when the FBI confirmed Clinton would not face prosecution over her emails. Global stock markets surged on Monday, with Wall Street gaining more than two percent, as hopes for a Clinton victory rose after FBI director James Comey's weekend announcement that she was in the clear. The dollar also gained, and analyst Patrick O'Hare of briefing.com said: "You can certainly take for granted from today's rally that the market seems to like the idea of Mrs. Clinton being elected president." (WION with inputs from agencies)

US election 2016: Today is the day Americans decide?Clinton or Trump

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war.

This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh -&nbsp;but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say.

Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh.

&quot;It&#39;s a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it&#39;s a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here,&quot; said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. &quot;I feel they are ignorant - they don&#39;t know Sikhism,&quot; he added. The turbans confuse people, he said.

&quot;It hurts me - I&#39;m not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We&#39;re living in this country and growing our family,&quot; Ravinder adds.

&quot;They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims,&quot; says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years.&nbsp;&quot;They say things like go back to India,&quot; he adds.

The two agree&nbsp;that the racist remarks come with the job. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s horrible - I can&#39;t run behind them, or teach them or fight them,&quot; Satnam Singh adds.&nbsp;&quot;I understand that people don&#39;t understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh.&quot;

&quot;We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don&#39;t hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy,&quot; Ravinder Singh says.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;ve been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don&#39;t discriminate anybody,&quot; he adds.

The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country.&nbsp;But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time.

&quot;It&#39;ll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people,&quot; Ravinder adds.

It&#39;s been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it&#39;s still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason&nbsp;behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for.

(WION)

Nearly half of the cab drivers in New York city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war. This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh - but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say. Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh. "It's a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it's a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here," said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. "I feel they are ignorant - they don't know Sikhism," he added. The turbans confuse people, he said. "It hurts me - I'm not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We're living in this country and growing our family," Ravinder adds. "They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims," says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years. "They say things like go back to India," he adds. The two agree that the racist remarks come with the job. "It's horrible - I can't run behind them, or teach them or fight them," Satnam Singh adds. "I understand that people don't understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh." "We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don't hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy," Ravinder Singh says. "I've been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don't discriminate anybody," he adds. The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country. But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time. "It'll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people," Ravinder adds. It's been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it's still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for. (WION)

US election 2016: Sikhism often confused with Islam, say Sikh voters

Advanced voting among African Americans in North Carolina&nbsp;is down by 8.7 per cent from last year, according to Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor at the University of Florida who specialises in American elections.

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Something went very wrong for African-Americans&#39; voting in North Carolina <a href="https://t.co/ZpwjyEavmd">pic.twitter.com/ZpwjyEavmd</a>
&mdash; Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectProject/status/795378059570544645">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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This comes as US District Judge Loretta Biggs slammed a still-continuing North Carolinan voter purge during a hearing Wednesday, telling county attorneys that she was &quot;horrified&quot; by the &quot;insane&quot; process by which residents&nbsp;could be removed from the registered list of voters&nbsp;without their knowledge, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/03/federal_judge_slams_north_carolina_voter_purge.html">Slate </a>reports.&nbsp;&quot;This sounds like something that was put together in 1901&quot;, she said, which&nbsp;as Slate reminds us&nbsp;was when the state used Jim Crow laws to prevent black citizens from&nbsp;voting.

CBS reports that the comments came during an emergency hearing over allegations raised by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) that at least three counties in the&nbsp;state are being purged unfairly in a process that targets African Americans.&nbsp;

Lawyers for North Carolina countered that state data shows that in the last two years fewer than 7,000 statewide out of a total of 6.8 million registered voters have been purged.

Meanwhile, McDonald says that the lower numbers in one state are not represenative of&nbsp;African American eagerness to vote&nbsp;overall. In Georgia, the same number has gone up by a considerable margin.

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Again Afr-Am enthusiasm should not be judged by NC alone: Georgia Afr-Am <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earlyovte?src=hash">#earlyovte</a> up +23,859 from 2012, but NC down -65,650 votes
&mdash; Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectProject/status/795305361435660288">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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But North Carolina wasn&#39;t the only crucial state&nbsp;to experience longer than normal waits for minorities. Also affected was Cincinnati, Ohio,&nbsp;who are expected to vote Democrat.

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4,000 people are waiting in line to vote in Cincinnati right now. This is how long the line is. <a href="https://t.co/bilpnGsrzl">pic.twitter.com/bilpnGsrzl</a>
&mdash; Saahil Desai (@Saahil_Desai) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saahil_Desai/status/795342933364973570">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Approximately 2500 people in line to vote early in Cincinnati! <a href="https://t.co/Rqfsi7zSoN">pic.twitter.com/Rqfsi7zSoN</a>
&mdash; Allan B (@albhere) <a href="https://twitter.com/albhere/status/795353794980810752">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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This fits a trend. As the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/opinion/long-lines-at-minority-polling-places.html">reported</a>&nbsp;in a 2014 piece on the same topic, &quot;Some of the longest lines on Election Day occur at polling places in black and&nbsp;Hispanic neighbourhoods.&quot;

A conclusion&nbsp;reached after examining a study by the Brennan Center for Justice&nbsp;was decisive:&nbsp;&quot;There was a clear relationship in those states between the racial makeup of a precinct and the number of voting machines it received from the state.&quot;

This week, the&nbsp;New York Times even published on their website&nbsp;an interactive game called &quot;The Voter Suppression Trail&quot;, allowing users to try to overcome various obstacles in order to cast a vote, while playing as an&nbsp;African American or&nbsp;Latino character.

This controversy surrounding voter suppression&nbsp;comes as Republican presidential candidate&nbsp;Donald Trump has warned -- without foundation, but repeatedly&nbsp;-- that the 2016 US election is &quot;rigged&quot; to favour Hillary Clinton.&nbsp;

&nbsp;(WION)

African American advanced voting is way down in North Carolina, with a 8.7% drop, and lineups in other states are hours-long

Advanced voting among African Americans in North Carolina is down by 8.7 per cent from last year, according to Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor at the University of Florida who specialises in American elections. Something went very wrong for African-Americans' voting in North Carolina pic.twitter.com/ZpwjyEavmd — Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) November 6, 2016 × This comes as US District Judge Loretta Biggs slammed a still-continuing North Carolinan voter purge during a hearing Wednesday, telling county attorneys that she was "horrified" by the "insane" process by which residents could be removed from the registered list of voters without their knowledge, Slate reports. "This sounds like something that was put together in 1901", she said, which as Slate reminds us was when the state used Jim Crow laws to prevent black citizens from voting. CBS reports that the comments came during an emergency hearing over allegations raised by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) that at least three counties in the state are being purged unfairly in a process that targets African Americans. Lawyers for North Carolina countered that state data shows that in the last two years fewer than 7,000 statewide out of a total of 6.8 million registered voters have been purged. Meanwhile, McDonald says that the lower numbers in one state are not represenative of African American eagerness to vote overall. In Georgia, the same number has gone up by a considerable margin. Again Afr-Am enthusiasm should not be judged by NC alone: Georgia Afr-Am #earlyovte up +23,859 from 2012, but NC down -65,650 votes — Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) November 6, 2016 × But North Carolina wasn't the only crucial state to experience longer than normal waits for minorities. Also affected was Cincinnati, Ohio, who are expected to vote Democrat. 4,000 people are waiting in line to vote in Cincinnati right now. This is how long the line is. pic.twitter.com/bilpnGsrzl — Saahil Desai (@Saahil_Desai) November 6, 2016 × Approximately 2500 people in line to vote early in Cincinnati! pic.twitter.com/Rqfsi7zSoN — Allan B (@albhere) November 6, 2016 × This fits a trend. As the New York Times reported in a 2014 piece on the same topic, "Some of the longest lines on Election Day occur at polling places in black and Hispanic neighbourhoods." A conclusion reached after examining a study by the Brennan Center for Justice was decisive: "There was a clear relationship in those states between the racial makeup of a precinct and the number of voting machines it received from the state." This week, the New York Times even published on their website an interactive game called "The Voter Suppression Trail", allowing users to try to overcome various obstacles in order to cast a vote, while playing as an African American or Latino character. This controversy surrounding voter suppression comes as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has warned -- without foundation, but repeatedly -- that the 2016 US election is "rigged" to favour Hillary Clinton. (WION)

Republican efforts to suppress minority votes appear to be working