The Palestinian National Authority (PNA)&nbsp;recalled its ambassador to the US on Sunday in Washington following&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/search?query=US">US</a>&nbsp;President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/search?query=Donald%20Trump">Donald Trump</a>&#39;s controversial decision of recognising&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/search?query=Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a>&nbsp;as the capital of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/search?query=Israel">Israel</a>&nbsp;a few weeks ago.

The PNA&#39;s move was done in order to have &quot;consultations&quot; over the crisis with Washington after its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital.

A brief statement by the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riad Maliki mentioned that he decided to recall the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in the US, Ambassador Hossam Zomlot, media reports said.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on Sunday said, &quot;The discussions would take place to set the decisions needed by the Palestinian leadership in the coming period regarding our relations with the US our US envoy will return back to &#39;his normal work&#39; after the discussions.&quot;

On December 6, US President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital and ordered to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which met strong Palestinian and Arab rejection.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians would no longer work with the US as an interlocutor in the peace process between themselves and Israel.

It is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.&nbsp;

The PNA's move was done in order to have 'consultations' over the crisis with Washington after its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) recalled its ambassador to the US on Sunday in Washington following US President Donald Trump's controversial decision of recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a few weeks ago. The PNA's move was done in order to have "consultations" over the crisis with Washington after its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. A brief statement by the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riad Maliki mentioned that he decided to recall the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in the US, Ambassador Hossam Zomlot, media reports said. Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on Sunday said, "The discussions would take place to set the decisions needed by the Palestinian leadership in the coming period regarding our relations with the US our US envoy will return back to 'his normal work' after the discussions." On December 6, US President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ordered to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which met strong Palestinian and Arab rejection. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians would no longer work with the US as an interlocutor in the peace process between themselves and Israel. It is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.

Palestine recalls its ambassador to US over Jerusalem crisis

Margaret Thatcher refused a request to fly a panda in the back of her Concorde when she visited Washington for her first summit with Ronald Reagan, according to papers released on Friday.

The then prime minister was drawn into the scheme in January 1981, the same month that Reagan was inaugurated, when the Smithsonian Institution in Washington appealed to London Zoo for the loan of its male panda.

The president of the London Zoological Society, Solly Zuckerman, seized on the opportunity to create a publicity stunt with the help of the prime minister.

&quot;Lord Zuckerman sees this as a signal demonstration of the special relationship and would be very happy to time the announcement of the loan or the delivery of the panda in any way that the prime minister thought would be most likely to benefit Anglo-American relations,&quot; cabinet secretary Robert Armstrong wrote.

&quot;He even suggested that the prime minister might like to take the panda in the back of her Concorde, when she goes to Washington next month,&quot; he added, according to papers released by the National Archives in Kew, London.

The &quot;Iron Lady&quot; was not convinced, however, that she should be involved in promoting London Zoo&#39;s efforts to bring a new mate to a female panda.

&quot;Lord Z knows more about pandas than I do -- I am sure he can arrange these things,&quot; she said in a handwritten note.

Her private secretary, Clive Whitmore, replied to Zuckerman: &quot;She has commented that she is not taking a panda with her -- &#39;Pandas and politicians are not happy omens!&#39;&quot;

Margaret Thatcher refused a request to fly a panda in the back of her Concorde when she visited Washington for her first summit with Ronald Reagan, according to papers released on Friday

Margaret Thatcher refused a request to fly a panda in the back of her Concorde when she visited Washington for her first summit with Ronald Reagan, according to papers released on Friday. The then prime minister was drawn into the scheme in January 1981, the same month that Reagan was inaugurated, when the Smithsonian Institution in Washington appealed to London Zoo for the loan of its male panda. The president of the London Zoological Society, Solly Zuckerman, seized on the opportunity to create a publicity stunt with the help of the prime minister. "Lord Zuckerman sees this as a signal demonstration of the special relationship and would be very happy to time the announcement of the loan or the delivery of the panda in any way that the prime minister thought would be most likely to benefit Anglo-American relations," cabinet secretary Robert Armstrong wrote. "He even suggested that the prime minister might like to take the panda in the back of her Concorde, when she goes to Washington next month," he added, according to papers released by the National Archives in Kew, London. The "Iron Lady" was not convinced, however, that she should be involved in promoting London Zoo's efforts to bring a new mate to a female panda. "Lord Z knows more about pandas than I do -- I am sure he can arrange these things," she said in a handwritten note. Her private secretary, Clive Whitmore, replied to Zuckerman: "She has commented that she is not taking a panda with her -- 'Pandas and politicians are not happy omens!'"

Thatcher refused to take panda to Washington in Concorde, papers show

American Airlines Flight 2160 from Boston has just arrived in Washington, D.C., and Bette Nash, 81, helps the passengers disembark. They embrace her, take photos, and express their thanks. It&#39;s always like this. After six decades crossing the skies as a flight attendant, Nash still has impeccable style, incredible energy and a constant smile. She has lost only one thing: her anonymity.

Kendra Taylor, a passenger, beams after taking a selfie with the octogenarian, whom she had hoped to meet.

&quot;When I saw her I was like, &#39;Oh my gosh.&#39; I just saw her on TV last week!&quot; In a dark suit accented by a coloured scarf, with her hair in a bun, Nash lends herself to accolades and plays with the compliments. She is the undisputed star of the Airbus jet, rather than the captain, Mike Margiotta, who emerges from the flight deck. &quot;Very professional,&quot; he says of his model hostess. &quot;She&#39;s got that old-school way of doing things.&quot;

In the United States, pilots must retire at 65 but there is no such restriction on commercial flight attendants, of whom Bette Nash is probably the world&#39;s most senior. See her gliding through the terminal concourse, pulling her suitcase, and it&#39;s hard not to be taken by the admiring words one hears about her.

&quot;I start my day at 2:10 in the morning. I have two alarm clocks and when they go off I don&#39;t lie there, I get up,&quot; Nash says. At her home in Virginia, bordering Washington, Nash prepares food for her only son, who is disabled, and who will be waiting for her return to solid ground. 
 
Primped, and fueled by &quot;a couple of eggs,&quot; she arrives before sunrise at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Nash prefers the Washington-Boston-Washington route, on which she gets priority because of her incomparable seniority. She was 21 years young and Dwight Eisenhower was president when Eastern Air Lines recruited her as a &quot;stewardess,&quot; a word which -- like Eastern itself -- has disappeared from use. 
 
At that time, travel by air was the preserve of a certain elite. &quot;There were a lot of men because they were doing business, and women came on with their fur coats, and their finery and their hats and everything.

You didn&#39;t have... the flip-flops and the sneakers and things you do today,&quot; Nash says. Her own uniforms ranged, through the years, from conservative to elegant, and &quot;wild.&quot; 
 
&quot;When (president) John Kennedy came into office and everything, things started opening up, so we wore crazy uniforms.

We even had hot pants for a brief period, and these boots,&quot; she remembers. In those earlier times, which seem almost prehistoric, there were no plastic meal trays. Hostesses cooked lobster and duck a l&#39;orange equally well, and carved the meat. In the first class, passengers dined with silverware and porcelain.

&quot;We had five carts: we&#39;d start with a beverage cart, then we&#39;d have an hors-d&#39;oeuvre cart, then we&#39;d have the entrees cart.&quot; Desserts followed, and then finally came &quot;a cordial cart.&quot; There was no mixing of classes. Flights were either all first class or &quot;tourist&quot; class. 
 
In the less-opulent class, &quot;we sold sandwiches and milk. Sandwiches were 50 cents and milk was 15 cents,&quot; Nash says.

&quot;We just had coffee, tea, hot chocolate and bouillon.&quot; Strikes, mergers, buyouts, Nash has gone through all the somersaults of the US aviation industry. She even worked for Trump Shuttle, an airline briefly owned by current President Donald Trump in the early 90s. 
 
During one unforgettable approach to Washington, her plane was hit by turbulence so violent that part of a toilet separated, and it seemed as though a wing hit the ground.

&quot;It was just terrible,&quot; Nash said, recalling lightning that &quot;kept on coming in and I think we even flew over the White House that night, which was really illegal.&quot; The plane had to return to New York. 
 
Ten years ago, for her 50th anniversary on the job, Nash&#39;s plane was welcomed on the tarmac by sprays of water from fire engines -- an honour normally reserved for veteran pilots or the baptism of a new plane.

Who imagined that Nash would still be there. &quot;I am not going to work until I am 90,&quot; she says, before adding on the subject of retirement: &quot;I don&#39;t want to think about it!&quot; Bette Nash will celebrate her 82nd birthday on December 31.

In the US, pilots must retire at 65 but there is no such restriction on commercial flight attendants

American Airlines Flight 2160 from Boston has just arrived in Washington, D.C., and Bette Nash, 81, helps the passengers disembark. They embrace her, take photos, and express their thanks. It's always like this. After six decades crossing the skies as a flight attendant, Nash still has impeccable style, incredible energy and a constant smile. She has lost only one thing: her anonymity. Kendra Taylor, a passenger, beams after taking a selfie with the octogenarian, whom she had hoped to meet. "When I saw her I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' I just saw her on TV last week!" In a dark suit accented by a coloured scarf, with her hair in a bun, Nash lends herself to accolades and plays with the compliments. She is the undisputed star of the Airbus jet, rather than the captain, Mike Margiotta, who emerges from the flight deck. "Very professional," he says of his model hostess. "She's got that old-school way of doing things." In the United States, pilots must retire at 65 but there is no such restriction on commercial flight attendants, of whom Bette Nash is probably the world's most senior. See her gliding through the terminal concourse, pulling her suitcase, and it's hard not to be taken by the admiring words one hears about her. "I start my day at 2:10 in the morning. I have two alarm clocks and when they go off I don't lie there, I get up," Nash says. At her home in Virginia, bordering Washington, Nash prepares food for her only son, who is disabled, and who will be waiting for her return to solid ground. Primped, and fueled by "a couple of eggs," she arrives before sunrise at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Nash prefers the Washington-Boston-Washington route, on which she gets priority because of her incomparable seniority. She was 21 years young and Dwight Eisenhower was president when Eastern Air Lines recruited her as a "stewardess," a word which -- like Eastern itself -- has disappeared from use. At that time, travel by air was the preserve of a certain elite. "There were a lot of men because they were doing business, and women came on with their fur coats, and their finery and their hats and everything. You didn't have... the flip-flops and the sneakers and things you do today," Nash says. Her own uniforms ranged, through the years, from conservative to elegant, and "wild." "When (president) John Kennedy came into office and everything, things started opening up, so we wore crazy uniforms. We even had hot pants for a brief period, and these boots," she remembers. In those earlier times, which seem almost prehistoric, there were no plastic meal trays. Hostesses cooked lobster and duck a l'orange equally well, and carved the meat. In the first class, passengers dined with silverware and porcelain. "We had five carts: we'd start with a beverage cart, then we'd have an hors-d'oeuvre cart, then we'd have the entrees cart." Desserts followed, and then finally came "a cordial cart." There was no mixing of classes. Flights were either all first class or "tourist" class. In the less-opulent class, "we sold sandwiches and milk. Sandwiches were 50 cents and milk was 15 cents," Nash says. "We just had coffee, tea, hot chocolate and bouillon." Strikes, mergers, buyouts, Nash has gone through all the somersaults of the US aviation industry. She even worked for Trump Shuttle, an airline briefly owned by current President Donald Trump in the early 90s. During one unforgettable approach to Washington, her plane was hit by turbulence so violent that part of a toilet separated, and it seemed as though a wing hit the ground. "It was just terrible," Nash said, recalling lightning that "kept on coming in and I think we even flew over the White House that night, which was really illegal." The plane had to return to New York. Ten years ago, for her 50th anniversary on the job, Nash's plane was welcomed on the tarmac by sprays of water from fire engines -- an honour normally reserved for veteran pilots or the baptism of a new plane. Who imagined that Nash would still be there. "I am not going to work until I am 90," she says, before adding on the subject of retirement: "I don't want to think about it!" Bette Nash will celebrate her 82nd birthday on December 31.

Meet 81-year-old air hostess who rules the skies

The passenger train that derailed in Washington state was traveling 80 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, transport investigators said late Monday.

Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told journalists &quot;it&#39;s too early to tell&quot; why the train was travelling at such a fast speed, an estimate that came from preliminary information obtained from an event data recorder in the rear locomotive.

The Amtrak train -- which Dinh-Zarr said was likely carrying some 80 passengers, three crew and two service personnel -- was travelling on a new route for the first time before plunging off a bridge onto a busy highway, leaving at least three people dead.

Federal investigators would be on the scene for a full day Tuesday, she said, kicking off a probe into the incident that would likely last seven to 10 days.

Information obtained from the front locomotive&#39;s data recorder, which has been more difficult to access, would potentially lend more insight into the train&#39;s exact speed, according to Dinh-Zarr.

Pictures captured following Monday morning&#39;s derailment showed one Amtrak train car overturned and crushed on the interstate highway and others dangling from the overpass.

Several other carriages of the 14-car train also ended up on the highway, shutting down a key section of the busy artery that connects the greater Seattle metropolitan area to Olympia. All but one car jumped the tracks.

Officials gave no reason for the derailment of southbound Amtrak train 501, the inaugural run of a new service that promised faster connections between Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Local officials had warned only weeks ago that the track still might not be safe enough to handle trains at higher speeds.

The National Transportation Safety Board said 'it's too early to tell' why the train was travelling at such a fast speed

The passenger train that derailed in Washington state was traveling 80 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, transport investigators said late Monday. Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told journalists "it's too early to tell" why the train was travelling at such a fast speed, an estimate that came from preliminary information obtained from an event data recorder in the rear locomotive. The Amtrak train -- which Dinh-Zarr said was likely carrying some 80 passengers, three crew and two service personnel -- was travelling on a new route for the first time before plunging off a bridge onto a busy highway, leaving at least three people dead. Federal investigators would be on the scene for a full day Tuesday, she said, kicking off a probe into the incident that would likely last seven to 10 days. Information obtained from the front locomotive's data recorder, which has been more difficult to access, would potentially lend more insight into the train's exact speed, according to Dinh-Zarr. Pictures captured following Monday morning's derailment showed one Amtrak train car overturned and crushed on the interstate highway and others dangling from the overpass. Several other carriages of the 14-car train also ended up on the highway, shutting down a key section of the busy artery that connects the greater Seattle metropolitan area to Olympia. All but one car jumped the tracks. Officials gave no reason for the derailment of southbound Amtrak train 501, the inaugural run of a new service that promised faster connections between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Local officials had warned only weeks ago that the track still might not be safe enough to handle trains at higher speeds.

US: Derailed Amtrak train was doing 80 mph in 30 mph zone

Shree Saini from Washington was crowned Miss India USA 2017 Monday.

After winning the pageant, the 21-year-old said,&nbsp;&quot;I believe in working together to create a hole that is greater than the sum of its parts.&quot;

A student at the&nbsp;University of Washington Saini also wants to &quot;lead a life dedicated to service&quot;.

Her life and story of success is a source of inspiration to all as the Indian-origin beauty queen got a pacemaker&nbsp;at the age of 12 and was told that she would never be able to dance. While she dealt with physical pressure at a young age, she also&nbsp;fought with mental pressure while completing high school when there was severe bullying from her peers.&nbsp;

Child of migrated parents from Punjab in India, Saini said in her speech that she&nbsp;wants to &quot;eliminate human trafficking and work towards promoting the importance of emotional well-being in the society&quot;. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Cancer surgeon Kavita Malhotra Pattani from Florida was declared Mrs India USA 2017 while&nbsp;Swapna Mannam from New Jersey was crowned with Miss Teen India USA 2017. 
&nbsp; 
More than 50 contestants from over two dozen states participated in the three different pageants - Miss India USA, Miss Teen India USA and Mrs India USA. 
&nbsp; 
Started by New York-based Indian Americans Dharmatma Saran and Neelam Saran, under the banner of India Festival Committee, Miss India USA is the longest running Indian pageant outside India. 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

A victim of bullying in high school, Saini had a pacemaker installed at the age of 12

Shree Saini from Washington was crowned Miss India USA 2017 Monday. After winning the pageant, the 21-year-old said, "I believe in working together to create a hole that is greater than the sum of its parts." A student at the University of Washington Saini also wants to "lead a life dedicated to service". Her life and story of success is a source of inspiration to all as the Indian-origin beauty queen got a pacemaker at the age of 12 and was told that she would never be able to dance. While she dealt with physical pressure at a young age, she also fought with mental pressure while completing high school when there was severe bullying from her peers. Child of migrated parents from Punjab in India, Saini said in her speech that she wants to "eliminate human trafficking and work towards promoting the importance of emotional well-being in the society". Cancer surgeon Kavita Malhotra Pattani from Florida was declared Mrs India USA 2017 while Swapna Mannam from New Jersey was crowned with Miss Teen India USA 2017. More than 50 contestants from over two dozen states participated in the three different pageants - Miss India USA, Miss Teen India USA and Mrs India USA. Started by New York-based Indian Americans Dharmatma Saran and Neelam Saran, under the banner of India Festival Committee, Miss India USA is the longest running Indian pageant outside India.

Miss India USA 2017 Shree Saini's story of success is an inspiration

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US&nbsp;recognition of Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.

The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s decision to move the US&nbsp;Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

Major US&nbsp;allies came out against Trump&#39;s reversal of decades of US&nbsp;and broad international policy on Jerusalem.

France rejected the &quot;unilateral&quot; decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem&#39;s status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution.

Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump&#39;s move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was &quot;an important step towards peace&quot; and it was &quot;our goal from Israel&#39;s first day&quot;.

He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump&#39;s example.

Trump upended decades of US&nbsp;policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East.

The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek.

Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the &quot;eternal capital of the State of Palestine&quot; and that Trump&#39;s move was &quot;tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator.&quot;

The last round of US-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognise it as a Jewish state.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a &quot;flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people&quot;. Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to &quot;undermine US&nbsp;interests in the region&quot; and to &quot;shun Israel&quot;.

Protests broke out in parts of Jordan&#39;s capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman&#39;s outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. &quot;Down with America...America is the mother of terror,&quot; they chanted.

Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus&#39; traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem&#39;s Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness.

All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday.

&nbsp;

&quot;Legally Null&quot; Decision

The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed &quot;with deep sorrow&quot; Trump&#39;s decision and warned of &quot;dangerous consequences of moving the US&nbsp;Embassy to Jerusalem&quot;.

The statement described the move as &quot;a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process&quot;, and urged the US&nbsp;administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will.

Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump&#39;s decision and said it did not change Jerusalem&#39;s disputed legal status.

Jordan said Trump&#39;s action was &quot;legally null&quot; because it consolidated Israel&#39;s occupation of East Jerusalem.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump&#39;s Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability.

Qatar&#39;s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump&#39;s undertaking was a &quot;death sentence for all who seek peace&quot; and called it &quot;a dangerous escalation&quot;.

Turkey said Trump&#39;s move was &quot;irresponsible&quot;.

&quot;We call upon the US&nbsp;Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem,&quot; the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

A few hundred protesters gathered outside the US&nbsp;consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate.

Iran &quot;seriously condemns&quot; Trump&#39;s move as it violates UN&nbsp;resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel&#39;s security.

In Southeast Asia, the leaders of Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia denounced Trump&#39;s action.

&quot;This can rock global security and stability,&quot; Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world&#39;s largest Muslim-majority nation, told a news conference in which he called for the United States to reconsider its decision.

British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump&#39;s embrace of Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said.

However, May&#39;s spokesman welcomed Trump&#39;s stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not support Trump&#39;s &quot;unilateral&quot; move.

&quot;The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community. The status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations,&quot; Macron told reporters in Algiers.

&quot;France and Europe are attached to a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognised international borders with Jerusalem the capital of both states,&quot; he said.

&quot;For now, I urge for calm and for everyone to be responsible. We must avoid at all costs avoid violence and foster dialogue,&quot; he said.

UN&nbsp;Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to a two-state solution and Jerusalem was a final-status matter only to be settled through direct talks.

&quot;I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians,&quot; Guterres said. &quot;I will do everything in my power to support the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to meaningful negotiations.&quot;

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US?recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator. The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Major US allies came out against Trump's reversal of decades of US and broad international policy on Jerusalem. France rejected the "unilateral" decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem's status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution. Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump's move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was "an important step towards peace" and it was "our goal from Israel's first day". He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel's capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump's example. Trump upended decades of US policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East. The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek. Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the "eternal capital of the State of Palestine" and that Trump's move was "tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator." The last round of US-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognise it as a Jewish state. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a "flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people". Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to "undermine US interests in the region" and to "shun Israel". Protests broke out in parts of Jordan's capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman's outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. "Down with America...America is the mother of terror," they chanted. Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus' traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness. All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday. "Legally Null" Decision The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed "with deep sorrow" Trump's decision and warned of "dangerous consequences of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem". The statement described the move as "a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process", and urged the US administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will. Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump's decision and said it did not change Jerusalem's disputed legal status. Jordan said Trump's action was "legally null" because it consolidated Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump's Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability. Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump's undertaking was a "death sentence for all who seek peace" and called it "a dangerous escalation". Turkey said Trump's move was "irresponsible". "We call upon the US Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. A few hundred protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate. Iran "seriously condemns" Trump's move as it violates UN resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel's security. In Southeast Asia, the leaders of Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia denounced Trump's action. "This can rock global security and stability," Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, told a news conference in which he called for the United States to reconsider its decision. British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump's embrace of Jerusalem as Israel's capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said. However, May's spokesman welcomed Trump's stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not support Trump's "unilateral" move. "The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community. The status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations," Macron told reporters in Algiers. "France and Europe are attached to a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognised international borders with Jerusalem the capital of both states," he said. "For now, I urge for calm and for everyone to be responsible. We must avoid at all costs avoid violence and foster dialogue," he said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to a two-state solution and Jerusalem was a final-status matter only to be settled through direct talks. "I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians," Guterres said. "I will do everything in my power to support the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to meaningful negotiations."

Arabs, Europe, UN reject Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital

A city court of Everett in Washington ruled in favour of lingerie-clad servers in baristas, a popular coffee chain Monday.&nbsp;

A judge hearing to the plea said that they should be allowed to serve coffee wearing their desired clothing or lack thereof.&nbsp;

The baristas have been involved in an ongoing tussle with the city since the month of August when officials passed two ordinances barring them from serving steaming hot beverages while scantily-clad. A group of baristas sued the city, claiming the ordinances violated their constitutional rights.

US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman took the sides of the baristas and said&nbsp;that Everett&rsquo;s rules &ldquo;are a likely void for vagueness under the Fourteenth Amendment and the ordinances otherwise fail to provide clear guidance and raise risks of arbitrary enforcement.&rdquo;&#39;

The ordinances in question prohibited exposure of &ldquo;more than one-half of the part of the female breast located below the top of the areola&rdquo; and &ldquo;the genitals, anus, bottom one-half of the anal cleft, or any portion of the areola or nipple of the female breast.&rdquo;

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ9bG5Eh3ny/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Come get a pick me up in Arlington! I&#39;ll be here 12-7, come help me celebrate my birthday weekend ??????</a>

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Finding references such as &ldquo;anal cleft&rdquo; to be not &ldquo;reasonably understandable,&rdquo; Pechman agreed that such ordinances violated the baristas&rsquo; right to free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment.

While putting the ban&nbsp;in place, the had blamed a &ldquo;proliferation of crimes of a sexual nature occurring at bikini barista stands&rdquo;.

It had further added in its complaint that they found evidence &ldquo;relating to the adverse impacts of the conduct of bikini barista stands&hellip; dressing in a manner that is closely and customarily associated with adult entertainment or adult situations.&rdquo;

Judge Pechman said it wasn&rsquo;t her responsibility to comment on taste or decorum, concluding that: &ldquo;While some customers view the bikinis as &#39;sexualized&#39; to others, they convey particularized values, beliefs, ideas and opinions; namely, body confidence and freedom of choice. Moreover, in certain scenarios, bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The baristas went to court to appeal against ban citing 'First Amendment violations'

A city court of Everett in Washington ruled in favour of lingerie-clad servers in baristas, a popular coffee chain Monday. A judge hearing to the plea said that they should be allowed to serve coffee wearing their desired clothing or lack thereof. The baristas have been involved in an ongoing tussle with the city since the month of August when officials passed two ordinances barring them from serving steaming hot beverages while scantily-clad. A group of baristas sued the city, claiming the ordinances violated their constitutional rights. US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman took the sides of the baristas and said that Everett’s rules “are a likely void for vagueness under the Fourteenth Amendment and the ordinances otherwise fail to provide clear guidance and raise risks of arbitrary enforcement.”' The ordinances in question prohibited exposure of “more than one-half of the part of the female breast located below the top of the areola” and “the genitals, anus, bottom one-half of the anal cleft, or any portion of the areola or nipple of the female breast.” Come get a pick me up in Arlington! I'll be here 12-7, come help me celebrate my birthday weekend ?????? A post shared by Candy Girls Espresso (@candygirlsespresso) on Oct 7, 2017 at 1:11pm PDT × Finding references such as “anal cleft” to be not “reasonably understandable,” Pechman agreed that such ordinances violated the baristas’ right to free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. While putting the ban in place, the had blamed a “proliferation of crimes of a sexual nature occurring at bikini barista stands”. It had further added in its complaint that they found evidence “relating to the adverse impacts of the conduct of bikini barista stands… dressing in a manner that is closely and customarily associated with adult entertainment or adult situations.” Judge Pechman said it wasn’t her responsibility to comment on taste or decorum, concluding that: “While some customers view the bikinis as 'sexualized' to others, they convey particularized values, beliefs, ideas and opinions; namely, body confidence and freedom of choice. Moreover, in certain scenarios, bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment.”

Washington judge rules in favour of 'bare-ristas', says yes for bikini coffee

The Washington state&#39;s Attorney General and Chicago have sued Uber for allegedly violating state&#39;s data breach notification law.&nbsp;

The Washington Attorney General&nbsp;Bob Ferguson&nbsp;sued the ride-hailing company on Tuesday for over millions of dollars.&nbsp;

Uber&nbsp;had revealed last week about a data breach that it suffered&nbsp;in October&nbsp;2016.&nbsp;The data breach had reportedly affected about 57 million driver and rider accounts.

Uber waited for more than a year to disclose the data breach.

The delay not only failed to protect the consumer&#39;s personal information, it also violated city and state laws.&nbsp;

The state has demanded a&nbsp;penalty of up to $2000 for each person whose data was exposed.&nbsp;

The penalty this way will rise up to &quot;millions of dollars&quot;.

The companies are supposed to notify the Attorney General within 45 days if a breach affects 500 or more Washington residents.&nbsp;

However Uber, paid the hackers to keep them quite.&nbsp;

The hackers demanded payment from Uber in return for&nbsp;stolen data. Uber paid an amount of $100,000 to ensure complete removal of the data.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The Attorney General?Bob Ferguson?sued the ride-hailing company on Tuesday for over millions of dollars

The Washington state's Attorney General and Chicago have sued Uber for allegedly violating state's data breach notification law. The Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the ride-hailing company on Tuesday for over millions of dollars. Uber had revealed last week about a data breach that it suffered in October 2016. The data breach had reportedly affected about 57 million driver and rider accounts. Uber waited for more than a year to disclose the data breach. The delay not only failed to protect the consumer's personal information, it also violated city and state laws. The state has demanded a penalty of up to $2000 for each person whose data was exposed. The penalty this way will rise up to "millions of dollars". The companies are supposed to notify the Attorney General within 45 days if a breach affects 500 or more Washington residents. However Uber, paid the hackers to keep them quite. The hackers demanded payment from Uber in return for stolen data. Uber paid an amount of $100,000 to ensure complete removal of the data.

Washington, Chicago sue Uber for violating data breach

An ultra-violent Latino street gang that President Donald Trump has vowed to wipe out beheaded a man and cut out his heart before burying him in a park near the US capital, reports said Wednesday.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, was stabbed more than 100 times in the attack in Wheaton, Maryland just outside Washington DC, according to a statement by the Montgomery County Police Department.

Authorities have so far arrested Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19 and an alleged member of the MS-13 gang, on first-degree murder charges. Other suspects are being sought.

Charging documents obtained by Montgomery Community Media and WBALTV11 added the victim was decapitated and had his heart removed from his chest, in an attack planned for weeks and involving up to 10 people.

Detectives began investigating in September thanks to a tip from an informant who said he knew of a murder committed in the spring in a Wheaton park, the Washington Post reported, quoting court records. The informant led police to the gravesite deep side the park.

The grave was prepared before the attack, the paper said. It added that gang members lured the victim to the park and spoke to each other on walkie-talkies as he arrived, the paper added.

The charging documents do not cite a motive for the slaying, which investigators believe the attackers had been preparing for about two weeks, the Post said.

Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is estimated to have 10,000 members in the United States.

The gang works as an umbrella grouping of units known in Spanish as &quot;clicks,&quot; some of which are larger and more violent than others.

It has become a focus of Trump&#39;s crackdown on crime, which he claims has surged as a result of borders easily crossed by gang members.

Most members trace their heritage to El Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala, and among the members, there are as many immigrants as there are US citizens. Many were born in the United States.

Authorities last week announced they had netted 214 members of the gang in a month-long nationwide sweep.

More than half of those picked up in the action which was led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were arrested on immigration violations. But 93 were dealt federal criminal charges including murder, robbery, drugs, and racketeering.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, was stabbed more than 100 times in the attack in Wheaton, Maryland just outside Washington DC, said the Montgomery County Police Department

An ultra-violent Latino street gang that President Donald Trump has vowed to wipe out beheaded a man and cut out his heart before burying him in a park near the US capital, reports said Wednesday. The victim, who has not yet been identified, was stabbed more than 100 times in the attack in Wheaton, Maryland just outside Washington DC, according to a statement by the Montgomery County Police Department. Authorities have so far arrested Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19 and an alleged member of the MS-13 gang, on first-degree murder charges. Other suspects are being sought. Charging documents obtained by Montgomery Community Media and WBALTV11 added the victim was decapitated and had his heart removed from his chest, in an attack planned for weeks and involving up to 10 people. Detectives began investigating in September thanks to a tip from an informant who said he knew of a murder committed in the spring in a Wheaton park, the Washington Post reported, quoting court records. The informant led police to the gravesite deep side the park. The grave was prepared before the attack, the paper said. It added that gang members lured the victim to the park and spoke to each other on walkie-talkies as he arrived, the paper added. The charging documents do not cite a motive for the slaying, which investigators believe the attackers had been preparing for about two weeks, the Post said. Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is estimated to have 10,000 members in the United States. The gang works as an umbrella grouping of units known in Spanish as "clicks," some of which are larger and more violent than others. It has become a focus of Trump's crackdown on crime, which he claims has surged as a result of borders easily crossed by gang members. Most members trace their heritage to El Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala, and among the members, there are as many immigrants as there are US citizens. Many were born in the United States. Authorities last week announced they had netted 214 members of the gang in a month-long nationwide sweep. More than half of those picked up in the action which was led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were arrested on immigration violations. But 93 were dealt federal criminal charges including murder, robbery, drugs, and racketeering.

Notorious gang 'behead man' near Washington

The US&nbsp;government made it tougher on <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/cuba-undeterred-amid-trumps-tightening-of-sanctions-16924">Wednesday for Americans to visit Cuba and do business </a>in the country, making good on a pledge by President Donald Trump to roll back his Democratic predecessor&rsquo;s move toward warmer ties with Havana.

The restrictions, which take effect on Thursday, are aimed at preventing the military, intelligence and security arms of Cuba&rsquo;s Communist government from benefiting from American tourists and trade, the White House said.

They fill in the regulatory detail on a Trump policy speech in June, in which the Republican president called for a tightening of restrictions. He said then that the Cuban government continued to oppress its people and former President Barack Obama had made too many concessions in his 2014 diplomatic breakthrough with Washington&rsquo;s former Cold War foe.

The regulations include a ban on Americans doing business with some 180 Cuban government entities, holding companies, and tourism companies. The list includes 83 state-owned hotels, including famous hotels in Old Havana such as Ernest Hemingway&rsquo;s erstwhile favorite haunt the Hotel Ambos Mundos, as well as the city&rsquo;s new luxury shopping mall.

&ldquo;All these measures hurt the Cuban people,&rdquo; said Cuba&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry chief for U.S. Affairs Josefina Vidal. She said that government revenue funds Cuba&rsquo;s free education and healthcare systems.

Speaking to reporters in Havana, she called the list &ldquo;arbitrary&rdquo; and the regulations a further &ldquo;setback&rdquo; in U.S.-Cuban relations.

The new rules were criticized as too lax by Republican leaders who favor a hard line, but as counterproductive by those who agreed with Obama&rsquo;s rationale for the detente: that Washington&rsquo;s many decades of isolating the Caribbean island failed to force change.

The Cuban hotels listed included those run by military-linked chains Gaviota and Habaguanex. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Cuban-American, said the list failed to go far enough because it omitted companies like Gran Caribe Hotel Group and Cubanacan that have ties to the Cuban government.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said the regulations were unfair to Cuba, coming as Trump was being &ldquo;feted in Beijing&rdquo; by a Communist government &ldquo;in a country to which Americans can travel freely.&rdquo;

&ldquo;The hypocrisy of the White House ideologues is glaring,&rdquo; Leahy said in a statement.

The US government made it tougher on Wednesday for Americans to visit Cuba and do business in the country, making good on a pledge by President Donald Trump to roll back his Democratic predecessor?s move toward warmer ties with Havana.

The US government made it tougher on Wednesday for Americans to visit Cuba and do business in the country, making good on a pledge by President Donald Trump to roll back his Democratic predecessor’s move toward warmer ties with Havana. The restrictions, which take effect on Thursday, are aimed at preventing the military, intelligence and security arms of Cuba’s Communist government from benefiting from American tourists and trade, the White House said. They fill in the regulatory detail on a Trump policy speech in June, in which the Republican president called for a tightening of restrictions. He said then that the Cuban government continued to oppress its people and former President Barack Obama had made too many concessions in his 2014 diplomatic breakthrough with Washington’s former Cold War foe. The regulations include a ban on Americans doing business with some 180 Cuban government entities, holding companies, and tourism companies. The list includes 83 state-owned hotels, including famous hotels in Old Havana such as Ernest Hemingway’s erstwhile favorite haunt the Hotel Ambos Mundos, as well as the city’s new luxury shopping mall. “All these measures hurt the Cuban people,” said Cuba’s Foreign Ministry chief for U.S. Affairs Josefina Vidal. She said that government revenue funds Cuba’s free education and healthcare systems. Speaking to reporters in Havana, she called the list “arbitrary” and the regulations a further “setback” in U.S.-Cuban relations. The new rules were criticized as too lax by Republican leaders who favor a hard line, but as counterproductive by those who agreed with Obama’s rationale for the detente: that Washington’s many decades of isolating the Caribbean island failed to force change. The Cuban hotels listed included those run by military-linked chains Gaviota and Habaguanex. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Cuban-American, said the list failed to go far enough because it omitted companies like Gran Caribe Hotel Group and Cubanacan that have ties to the Cuban government. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said the regulations were unfair to Cuba, coming as Trump was being “feted in Beijing” by a Communist government “in a country to which Americans can travel freely.” “The hypocrisy of the White House ideologues is glaring,” Leahy said in a statement.

US government restricts travel and trade with Cuba

&nbsp;United States President Donald Trump wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan as he thinks that the Washington is being ripped off by Islamabad.

As per Foreign Policy report, US&nbsp;is considering to increase troop levels up to 15, 000 in Afghanistan as part of the new strategy, which also would change the US&nbsp;relationship with Pakistan significantly.

The report quoted a White House official as saying that &quot;the President thinks we&#39;re being ripped off by Pakistan. The president wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan. That&#39;s part of the strategy&quot;.

The report further said the Pentagon has already frozen support to Islamabad under the coalition support fund, which provides payments to Pakistan for supporting counterterrorism operations.

This move is being considered due to Pakistan&#39;s constant support to insurgent group Taliban. However, US&nbsp;wants to ensure the survival of the Afghan government by ending the war in the country by negotiating with the Taliban.

This move is triggered by Pakistan&#39;s insufficient actions against the Haqqani network, an insurgent group based in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said.

Currently, around 8400 US.soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan.

Terming Afghanistan issue as &#39;a mess&#39; that he took over from the previous administration; Trump had said that his administration is getting close to a decision on an updated strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis had also hinted that President Trump is &quot;very close&quot; to making a decision on the strategy.

&quot;We&#39;re sharpening each one of the options so you can see the pluses and minuses of each one so that there&#39;s no longer any new data you&#39;re going to get. Now [he can] just make the decision,&quot; Mattis said.

Earlier, reports had emerged that the US&nbsp;administration may consider outsourcing the war management in Afghanistan to a private firm. (ANI)

This move is reported;y being considered due to Pakistan's constant support to insurgent group Taliban

United States President Donald Trump wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan as he thinks that the Washington is being ripped off by Islamabad. As per Foreign Policy report, US is considering to increase troop levels up to 15, 000 in Afghanistan as part of the new strategy, which also would change the US relationship with Pakistan significantly. The report quoted a White House official as saying that "the President thinks we're being ripped off by Pakistan. The president wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan. That's part of the strategy". The report further said the Pentagon has already frozen support to Islamabad under the coalition support fund, which provides payments to Pakistan for supporting counterterrorism operations. This move is being considered due to Pakistan's constant support to insurgent group Taliban. However, US wants to ensure the survival of the Afghan government by ending the war in the country by negotiating with the Taliban. This move is triggered by Pakistan's insufficient actions against the Haqqani network, an insurgent group based in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said. Currently, around 8400 US.soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan. Terming Afghanistan issue as 'a mess' that he took over from the previous administration; Trump had said that his administration is getting close to a decision on an updated strategy for the war in Afghanistan. US Defense Secretary James Mattis had also hinted that President Trump is "very close" to making a decision on the strategy. "We're sharpening each one of the options so you can see the pluses and minuses of each one so that there's no longer any new data you're going to get. Now [he can] just make the decision," Mattis said. Earlier, reports had emerged that the US administration may consider outsourcing the war management in Afghanistan to a private firm. (ANI)

Trump wants to 'cut all military aid to Pakistan', thinks Washington is being 'ripped off' by Islamabad: Report

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

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

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

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

Australia &quot;will come to the aid of the United States&quot; if North Korea attacks, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Friday, after nuclear-armed Pyongyang outlined plans to fire missiles near the US territory of Guam.

The Australian leader&#39;s comments of support to close ally Washington followed President Donald Trump&#39;s warning to North Korea that it should be &quot;very, very nervous&quot; of the consequences if the isolated nation even thought of attacking US soil.

&quot;The United States has no stronger ally than Australia,&quot; Turnbull told Melbourne commercial radio station 3AW.

&quot;And we have an ANZUS agreement and if there is an attack on Australia or the United States then... each of us will come to the other&#39;s aid.

&quot;So let&#39;s be very clear about that. If there is an attack on the United States by North Korea, then the ANZUS treaty will be invoked and Australia will come to the aid of the United States.&quot;

Relations between Washington and Pyongyang have been tense for months, in the wake of the North&#39;s repeated missile tests, including two successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches in July.

The escalating dispute took an unexpected turn Tuesday when Trump seemed to borrow from the North&#39;s arsenal of rhetoric and said it faced &quot;fire and fury like the world has never seen&quot; if it continued to threaten the US.

Turnbull said he spoke to US Vice President Mike Pence Thursday, who told him the preferred approach to deal with North Korea was through economic sanctions.

The UN Security Council on Saturday approved tough sanctions which could cost Pyongyang US$1 billion a year, with the sweeping measures the first of that scope to be imposed on North Korea since Trump took office.

&nbsp;

The escalating dispute between?Washington and Pyongyang?took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when Trump seemed to borrow from the North's arsenal of rhetoric and said it faced 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' if it continued to threaten the US

Australia "will come to the aid of the United States" if North Korea attacks, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Friday, after nuclear-armed Pyongyang outlined plans to fire missiles near the US territory of Guam. The Australian leader's comments of support to close ally Washington followed President Donald Trump's warning to North Korea that it should be "very, very nervous" of the consequences if the isolated nation even thought of attacking US soil. "The United States has no stronger ally than Australia," Turnbull told Melbourne commercial radio station 3AW. "And we have an ANZUS agreement and if there is an attack on Australia or the United States then... each of us will come to the other's aid. "So let's be very clear about that. If there is an attack on the United States by North Korea, then the ANZUS treaty will be invoked and Australia will come to the aid of the United States." Relations between Washington and Pyongyang have been tense for months, in the wake of the North's repeated missile tests, including two successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches in July. The escalating dispute took an unexpected turn Tuesday when Trump seemed to borrow from the North's arsenal of rhetoric and said it faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continued to threaten the US. Turnbull said he spoke to US Vice President Mike Pence Thursday, who told him the preferred approach to deal with North Korea was through economic sanctions. The UN Security Council on Saturday approved tough sanctions which could cost Pyongyang US$1 billion a year, with the sweeping measures the first of that scope to be imposed on North Korea since Trump took office.

Will back US in any North Korea conflict: Australia

The United States is looking forward to strengthen ties with India, the Trump Administration has said, ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump next week.

&quot;We&#39;re looking forward to strengthening ties between the United States and India,&quot; State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference.

&quot;We have a lot of areas of mutual cooperation, fighting terrorism, we have a lot of people-to-people ties, strong people-to-people ties; so we&#39;re looking forward to that visit,&quot; she said.

Modi and Trump are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday. This would be the first meeting between the two leaders.

After Trump won the presidential elections last November, the two leaders have spoken over phone three times, the last being Trump&#39;s congratulatory phone calls after Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

'We're looking forward to strengthening ties between the United States and India,' said a State Department spokesperson

The United States is looking forward to strengthen ties with India, the Trump Administration has said, ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump next week. "We're looking forward to strengthening ties between the United States and India," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference. "We have a lot of areas of mutual cooperation, fighting terrorism, we have a lot of people-to-people ties, strong people-to-people ties; so we're looking forward to that visit," she said. Modi and Trump are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday. This would be the first meeting between the two leaders. After Trump won the presidential elections last November, the two leaders have spoken over phone three times, the last being Trump's congratulatory phone calls after Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Looking forward to Trump-Modi first meeting: White House

North Korea capital Pyongyang&#39;s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun called US President Donald Trump a &quot;psychopath&quot;&nbsp;in an editorial.&nbsp;

&quot;South Korea must realise that following psychopath Trump...will only lead to disaster,&quot; an editorial carried by the paper said.

The paper added that Donald Trump was in a &quot;tough situation&quot;&nbsp;back home dealing with domestic political crisis and was thus trying to divert everyone&#39;s attention by toying with the idea of a preemptive strike on North Korea.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have rocketed since the death of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-student-otto-warmbier-dies-week-after-being-released-from-north-korean-jail-17029">Otto Warmbier,</a> who was released from&nbsp;North Korean detention last week. Warmbier was a 22-year-old student who had been held&nbsp;in a hard labour camp for 17 months&nbsp;for trying to steal&nbsp;a propoganda poster.

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Earlier in the day, the coroner&#39;s office said it had received Warmbier&#39;s body for an autopsy examination and was expecting to release preliminary findings later on Tuesday or on Wednesday. (Reuters)
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After Warmbier&#39;s death, President Trump called&nbsp;North Korea&nbsp;a &quot;brutal regime&quot;&nbsp;and said&nbsp;he would strive to &quot;prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency&quot;.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In echoed these words when he said in an interview with CBS Television&#39;s show, This Morning:&nbsp;&quot;I believe we must now have the perception that North Korea is an irrational regime. North Korea bears responsibility for the student&#39;s death.&quot;

Moon is scheduled to visit the White House next week. A centre-left politician&nbsp;sworn&nbsp;in last month, he favours engagement with the North, as opposed to his predecessor Park Geun-Hye.&nbsp;

Washington has also stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, flying two B-1 bombers over the Korean peninsula Tuesday in a planned training mission with Japan and South Korea as its latest show of force.

The country's official newspaper also encouraged South Korea not to follow the US president, saying 'it would only lead to disaster'

North Korea capital Pyongyang's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun called US President Donald Trump a "psychopath" in an editorial. "South Korea must realise that following psychopath Trump...will only lead to disaster," an editorial carried by the paper said. The paper added that Donald Trump was in a "tough situation" back home dealing with domestic political crisis and was thus trying to divert everyone's attention by toying with the idea of a preemptive strike on North Korea. Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have rocketed since the death of Otto Warmbier, who was released from North Korean detention last week. Warmbier was a 22-year-old student who had been held in a hard labour camp for 17 months for trying to steal a propoganda poster. Earlier in the day, the coroner's office said it had received Warmbier's body for an autopsy examination and was expecting to release preliminary findings later on Tuesday or on Wednesday. (Reuters) × After Warmbier's death, President Trump called North Korea a "brutal regime" and said he would strive to "prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency". South Korean President Moon Jae-In echoed these words when he said in an interview with CBS Television's show, This Morning: "I believe we must now have the perception that North Korea is an irrational regime. North Korea bears responsibility for the student's death." Moon is scheduled to visit the White House next week. A centre-left politician sworn in last month, he favours engagement with the North, as opposed to his predecessor Park Geun-Hye. Washington has also stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, flying two B-1 bombers over the Korean peninsula Tuesday in a planned training mission with Japan and South Korea as its latest show of force.

North Korea calls President Trump a 'psychopath...dealing with political crisis back home'

A man who had posted angry messages against President Donald Trump and other Republicans on social media opened fire on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game on Wednesday, wounding a senior US&nbsp;House member and three other people.

The gunman, a 66-year-old Illinois man, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/washington-gunman-opens-fire-at-congressional-baseball-practice-congressman-hit-16832">fired repeatedly </a>at the men playing on a baseball field in suburban Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.&nbsp;

He was wounded in a gunfight with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene, and police said he later died.

Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, was shot in the hip. He was tended to by fellow lawmakers including Brad Wenstrup, a congressman who is a physician, before being transported to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Also wounded were one current congressional aide and one former aide who now works as a lobbyist, officials said. One Capitol Hill police officer suffered a gunshot wound and another officer twisted an ankle, an official said.

While police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was too early to determine whether it was a deliberate political attack, the shooting intensified concerns about the sharp divide and bitter rhetoric in US&nbsp;politics.

It also quickly revived debate about gun rights in America. Virginia&#39;s Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, urged gun control measures. &quot;This is not what today is about, but there are too many guns on the street,&quot; McAuliffe said at a news conference near the scene of the shooting.

Scalise has been a strong opponent of gun control measures.

The gunman was identified by a senior US&nbsp;official as James Hodgkinson from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He had worked as a home inspector.

Hodgkinson had raged against Trump on social media and was a member of anti-Republican groups on Facebook including, &quot;The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans,&quot; &quot;Terminate The Republican Party,&quot; and &quot;Donald Trump is not my President,&quot; a search of his Facebook profile showed.

As businessman Trump rose to become the Republican Party nominee in the 2016 presidential election, his brash style and outspoken views on immigration and other policies led to mass protests, including on the weekend of his inauguration in January.&nbsp;

Representative Tim Ryan, who early on Wednesday was practicing for the ballgame with fellow Democrats, told reporters that Washington politicians needed to cool their rhetoric.

&quot;We&#39;ve got to get back to...where things aren&#39;t so personal and we&#39;re so judgmental of each other. It&#39;s got to stop. A member of the US&nbsp;Congress got shot because they didn&#39;t like (his) political views,&quot; Ryan said.

Calls for unity

Trump announced the gunman&#39;s death and called Scalise, a 51-year-old Louisiana congressman, a good friend. &quot;He&#39;s a patriot and he&#39;s a fighter. He will recover from this assault,&quot; Trump said.

Trump also called for unity. &quot;We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good,&quot; he said.

In a show of bipartisanship, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said on the floor of the House, &quot;An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.&quot; The House&#39;s top Democrat Nancy Pelosi echoed Ryan&#39;s message.

The shooting happened shortly after 7 a.m., while lawmakers were practicing their hitting and fielding a day before the annual charity congressional baseball game pitting Republicans against Democrats.&nbsp;

There were 20 House members and two senators present, and the shooting lasted about 10 minutes, said Representative Joe Barton, the Republican team&#39;s manager.

The charity game will go ahead as scheduled at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team.

Two lawmakers who were at the scene, Representatives Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan, indicated there might have been a political motive in the attack.

Duncan said that as he left the field the man who would later open fire approached him in the parking lot. &quot;He asked me who was practicing this morning, Republicans or Democrats, and I said, &#39;That&#39;s the Republicans practicing&#39;,&quot; Duncan told reporters. DeSantis gave a similar account.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said he had been told that Hodgkinson had served as a volunteer with his campaign.

&quot;Let me be as clear as I can be: violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms,&quot; Sanders said.

Ryan, the House speaker, is reviewing rules on how rank-and-file lawmakers can increase their personal security, including questions about paying for additional protection through member accounts and campaign funds, according to several lawmakers.

&quot;Members get threats on a regular basis and have trouble determining which are real,&quot; House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer told reporters.

Representative James Clyburn, a Democrat, rejected the idea that the shooting was motivated by partisan politics. &quot;I&#39;m not a Republican and I&#39;ve had all kinds of threats against me and my family. It&#39;s got nothing to do with partisan politics.&quot;

&#39;Heroism&#39; of police

The shooting took place at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in the Del Ray neighbourhood of Alexandria, across the Potomac River from Washington.&nbsp;

Representative Mo Brooks told CNN that during batting practice he heard a &quot;bam&quot; and then a quick succession of shots and saw the gunman shooting through the holes in a chain link fence.

When Scalise was shot he went down on the infield between first and second base, then dragged himself into the grassy outfield as the incident unfolded, leaving a trail of blood, Brooks said.

Two Capitol police officers who were there to provide security for the lawmakers engaged the gunman with pistols, Brooks said.

&quot;But for the Capitol police and the heroism they showed, it could very well have been a large-scale massacre. All we would have had would have been baseball bats versus a rifle. Those aren&#39;t good odds,&quot; Brooks said.

Brooks estimated 50 to 100 shots were fired.

Wednesday&#39;s attack was the first shooting of a member of Congress since January 2011, when Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt at a gathering of constituents in Tucson, Arizona. She survived, but six people were killed. Giffords resigned from Congress and became an activist for gun restrictions.

&nbsp;

The gunman was identified by a senior US?official as James Hodgkinson from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He had worked as a home inspector

A man who had posted angry messages against President Donald Trump and other Republicans on social media opened fire on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game on Wednesday, wounding a senior US House member and three other people. The gunman, a 66-year-old Illinois man, fired repeatedly at the men playing on a baseball field in suburban Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. He was wounded in a gunfight with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene, and police said he later died. Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, was shot in the hip. He was tended to by fellow lawmakers including Brad Wenstrup, a congressman who is a physician, before being transported to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Also wounded were one current congressional aide and one former aide who now works as a lobbyist, officials said. One Capitol Hill police officer suffered a gunshot wound and another officer twisted an ankle, an official said. While police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was too early to determine whether it was a deliberate political attack, the shooting intensified concerns about the sharp divide and bitter rhetoric in US politics. It also quickly revived debate about gun rights in America. Virginia's Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, urged gun control measures. "This is not what today is about, but there are too many guns on the street," McAuliffe said at a news conference near the scene of the shooting. Scalise has been a strong opponent of gun control measures. The gunman was identified by a senior US official as James Hodgkinson from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He had worked as a home inspector. Hodgkinson had raged against Trump on social media and was a member of anti-Republican groups on Facebook including, "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans," "Terminate The Republican Party," and "Donald Trump is not my President," a search of his Facebook profile showed. As businessman Trump rose to become the Republican Party nominee in the 2016 presidential election, his brash style and outspoken views on immigration and other policies led to mass protests, including on the weekend of his inauguration in January. Representative Tim Ryan, who early on Wednesday was practicing for the ballgame with fellow Democrats, told reporters that Washington politicians needed to cool their rhetoric. "We've got to get back to...where things aren't so personal and we're so judgmental of each other. It's got to stop. A member of the US Congress got shot because they didn't like (his) political views," Ryan said. Calls for unity Trump announced the gunman's death and called Scalise, a 51-year-old Louisiana congressman, a good friend. "He's a patriot and he's a fighter. He will recover from this assault," Trump said. Trump also called for unity. "We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good," he said. In a show of bipartisanship, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said on the floor of the House, "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." The House's top Democrat Nancy Pelosi echoed Ryan's message. The shooting happened shortly after 7 a.m., while lawmakers were practicing their hitting and fielding a day before the annual charity congressional baseball game pitting Republicans against Democrats. There were 20 House members and two senators present, and the shooting lasted about 10 minutes, said Representative Joe Barton, the Republican team's manager. The charity game will go ahead as scheduled at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. Two lawmakers who were at the scene, Representatives Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan, indicated there might have been a political motive in the attack. Duncan said that as he left the field the man who would later open fire approached him in the parking lot. "He asked me who was practicing this morning, Republicans or Democrats, and I said, 'That's the Republicans practicing'," Duncan told reporters. DeSantis gave a similar account. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said he had been told that Hodgkinson had served as a volunteer with his campaign. "Let me be as clear as I can be: violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms," Sanders said. Ryan, the House speaker, is reviewing rules on how rank-and-file lawmakers can increase their personal security, including questions about paying for additional protection through member accounts and campaign funds, according to several lawmakers. "Members get threats on a regular basis and have trouble determining which are real," House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer told reporters. Representative James Clyburn, a Democrat, rejected the idea that the shooting was motivated by partisan politics. "I'm not a Republican and I've had all kinds of threats against me and my family. It's got nothing to do with partisan politics." 'Heroism' of police The shooting took place at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in the Del Ray neighbourhood of Alexandria, across the Potomac River from Washington. Representative Mo Brooks told CNN that during batting practice he heard a "bam" and then a quick succession of shots and saw the gunman shooting through the holes in a chain link fence. When Scalise was shot he went down on the infield between first and second base, then dragged himself into the grassy outfield as the incident unfolded, leaving a trail of blood, Brooks said. Two Capitol police officers who were there to provide security for the lawmakers engaged the gunman with pistols, Brooks said. "But for the Capitol police and the heroism they showed, it could very well have been a large-scale massacre. All we would have had would have been baseball bats versus a rifle. Those aren't good odds," Brooks said. Brooks estimated 50 to 100 shots were fired. Wednesday's attack was the first shooting of a member of Congress since January 2011, when Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt at a gathering of constituents in Tucson, Arizona. She survived, but six people were killed. Giffords resigned from Congress and became an activist for gun restrictions.

Man who shot US Congressman, others on baseball field was angry with Trump

A gunman opened fire Wednesday at a baseball practice game for Republican lawmakers in Washington.

Senior Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was among several victims shot.

The lawmakers were practising for an upcoming annual game for lawmakers.

AFP reported fellow Republican lawmaker Mo Brooks as telling CNN that Scalise was shot in the hip, adding that at least two law enforcement officers and one congressional staffer were shot.

Scalise, the majority whip who rallies Republican votes in the House of Representatives, &quot;was not able to move on his own power. He was dragging his body from the second base infield to the outfield to get away from the shooter while all this firing was going on,&quot; Brooks said.&nbsp;

The gunman was later identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a strong supporter of leftist Senator Bernie Sanders.

US media identified Hodgkinson, who died following a shootout with police in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, as a 66-year-old from Belleville Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis.

Sanders swiftly responded to the reports, saying he was &quot;sickened&quot; by what he called a &quot;despicable act.&quot;&nbsp;

Hodgkinson, who was using a rifle, had fired on the Republican lawmakers from a chain link fence surrounding the ground.&nbsp;

Brooks added that one of the men in their security detail fired back but &quot;it was our pistol versus their rifle&quot;.

Reuters reported Fox News anchor Bret Baier as tweeting that Scalise was shot in the hip and is expected to survive.

Reports added that US President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence were &quot;closely monitoring the situation&quot;.&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump tweeted that Scalise &quot;was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him&quot;.&nbsp;

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Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/874971795362897921">June 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A gunman opened fire Wednesday at a baseball practice game for Republican lawmakers in Washington (WION)
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&nbsp;

Senior Republican Congressman Steve Scalise 'was not able to move on his own power. He was dragging his body from the second base infield to the outfield to get away from the shooter while all this firing was going on'

A gunman opened fire Wednesday at a baseball practice game for Republican lawmakers in Washington. Senior Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was among several victims shot. The lawmakers were practising for an upcoming annual game for lawmakers. AFP reported fellow Republican lawmaker Mo Brooks as telling CNN that Scalise was shot in the hip, adding that at least two law enforcement officers and one congressional staffer were shot. Scalise, the majority whip who rallies Republican votes in the House of Representatives, "was not able to move on his own power. He was dragging his body from the second base infield to the outfield to get away from the shooter while all this firing was going on," Brooks said. The gunman was later identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a strong supporter of leftist Senator Bernie Sanders. US media identified Hodgkinson, who died following a shootout with police in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, as a 66-year-old from Belleville Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. Sanders swiftly responded to the reports, saying he was "sickened" by what he called a "despicable act." Hodgkinson, who was using a rifle, had fired on the Republican lawmakers from a chain link fence surrounding the ground. Brooks added that one of the men in their security detail fired back but "it was our pistol versus their rifle". Reuters reported Fox News anchor Bret Baier as tweeting that Scalise was shot in the hip and is expected to survive. Reports added that US President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence were "closely monitoring the situation". US President Donald Trump tweeted that Scalise "was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him". Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2017 × A gunman opened fire Wednesday at a baseball practice game for Republican lawmakers in Washington (WION) ×

US: Gunman opens fire at baseball practice game for Republican lawmakers, Congressman & others hit

A US warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea on Thursday, a US official said, the first such operation by US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration in the disputed waterway.

The USS Dewey sailed &quot;less than 12 nautical miles&quot; from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- early Thursday morning local time, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The guided-missile destroyer&#39;s &quot;freedom of navigation operation&quot; is likely to provoke anger from Beijing as the Trump administration attempts to draw support from China on reining in North Korea.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The US has challenged annexations of these islets and advocated for a diplomatic settlement to the disputes.

A Pentagon spokesman, Major Jamie Davis, said US forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis and will fly and sail &quot;wherever international law&quot; allows.

&quot;We have a comprehensive Freedom of Navigation Operations program that seeks to challenge excessive maritime claims in order to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law,&quot; Davis said in a statement to AFP.

The exercises are &quot;not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements,&quot; he added.

According to the Pentagon, the US in 2016 conducted operations &quot;challenging excessive maritime claims of 22 coastal states, including allies and partners.&quot;

Pence warning 
The US has long argued that Beijing&#39;s actions in the South China Sea threaten freedom of navigation and overflight through the strategically vital waters.

China denies these claims, countering that the US is eager to stoke tensions in the region.

Australia and other countries have supported the US exercises, but have so far been unwilling to participate.

During a visit to Japan in April, US Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would defend the right to freedom of navigation through the waterway.

Speaking in January in New Delhi, US Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris said Washington &quot;will not allow the shared domains to be closed down unilaterally -- no matter how many bases are built on artificial features in the South China Sea.&quot;

Last week, Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a framework for creating a new code of conduct for ships and aircraft operating in the region.

The meeting was attended by ASEAN nations with claims in the region -- the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Under former President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines had adopted a tough stance on China&#39;s claims, which was tacitly backed by the US.

But the country&#39;s anger at the world&#39;s second largest economy has become a warm embrace following the election last year of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has declined to push China on territorial issues in the hopes of being rewarded with investment and aid.

On Tuesday, Duterte said that Chinese leaders had threatened to go to war over competing claims in the region during a meeting in Beijing. China&#39;s foreign ministry later said it would work with Manila to &quot;peacefully&quot; resolve disputes.&nbsp;

(AFP)

The USS Dewey sailed 'less than 12 nautical miles' from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- early Thursday morning, an official said

A US warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea on Thursday, a US official said, the first such operation by US President Donald Trump's administration in the disputed waterway. The USS Dewey sailed "less than 12 nautical miles" from Mischief Reef -- part of the Spratly Islands -- early Thursday morning local time, the official said on condition of anonymity. The guided-missile destroyer's "freedom of navigation operation" is likely to provoke anger from Beijing as the Trump administration attempts to draw support from China on reining in North Korea. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. The US has challenged annexations of these islets and advocated for a diplomatic settlement to the disputes. A Pentagon spokesman, Major Jamie Davis, said US forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis and will fly and sail "wherever international law" allows. "We have a comprehensive Freedom of Navigation Operations program that seeks to challenge excessive maritime claims in order to preserve the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law," Davis said in a statement to AFP. The exercises are "not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements," he added. According to the Pentagon, the US in 2016 conducted operations "challenging excessive maritime claims of 22 coastal states, including allies and partners." Pence warning The US has long argued that Beijing's actions in the South China Sea threaten freedom of navigation and overflight through the strategically vital waters. China denies these claims, countering that the US is eager to stoke tensions in the region. Australia and other countries have supported the US exercises, but have so far been unwilling to participate. During a visit to Japan in April, US Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would defend the right to freedom of navigation through the waterway. Speaking in January in New Delhi, US Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris said Washington "will not allow the shared domains to be closed down unilaterally -- no matter how many bases are built on artificial features in the South China Sea." Last week, Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a framework for creating a new code of conduct for ships and aircraft operating in the region. The meeting was attended by ASEAN nations with claims in the region -- the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. Under former President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines had adopted a tough stance on China's claims, which was tacitly backed by the US. But the country's anger at the world's second largest economy has become a warm embrace following the election last year of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has declined to push China on territorial issues in the hopes of being rewarded with investment and aid. On Tuesday, Duterte said that Chinese leaders had threatened to go to war over competing claims in the region during a meeting in Beijing. China's foreign ministry later said it would work with Manila to "peacefully" resolve disputes. (AFP)

US warship sails near South China Sea reef claimed by Beijing

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US&nbsp;President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: &quot;One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated.&quot;

Asked about accusations that Syria&#39;s government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports.

He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government.

&nbsp;

Downplaying Russia-US connection?

Putin&#39;s claim that Moscow&#39;s relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents.

It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President&#39;s son, also distanced Washington from Moscow.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America&#39;s strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4,&nbsp;US President Donald Trump&#39;s son Eric Trump asserted:&nbsp;&quot;If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie.&quot;

Yesterday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/fbi-obtained-court-order-to-monitor-ex-trump-adviser-in-russia-probe-washington-post-14431" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported that last summer&nbsp;the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump&nbsp;adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent.

Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western&nbsp;sanctions.&nbsp;

Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings&nbsp;on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a&nbsp;disclosure&nbsp;could be a felony.

<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/327753-kushner-didnt-disclose-meetings-with-russians-on-security-clearance" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide&#39;s notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim&nbsp;he is only using a temporary security clearance now.

Trump&#39;s pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak.

Trump&#39;s pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions&nbsp;recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak.

(WION)

The claim comes just after Trump's son also distanced Washington from Moscow, amid an FBI investigation into the connection between the two

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: "One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated." Asked about accusations that Syria's government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports. He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government. Downplaying Russia-US connection? Putin's claim that Moscow's relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents. It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President's son, also distanced Washington from Moscow. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America's strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4, US President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump asserted: "If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie." Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that last summer the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent. Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western sanctions. Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a disclosure could be a felony. The Hill reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide's notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim he is only using a temporary security clearance now. Trump's pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Trump's pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak. (WION)

Putin says US-Russia ties worse since Trump took office

So far, it&rsquo;s all been about allies, but this week will be different. US President Donald Trump is set to host his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a two-day summit at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6-7.

The meeting between the leaders of the world&rsquo;s biggest economies, as Trump predicted in a tweet, is expected to be &ldquo;a difficult one&rdquo;. Sino-US ties had witnessed steady growth under Barack Obama, both in style and substance.

For starters, Obama&rsquo;s much-vaunted and now abandoned pivot to Asia led to anxieties in Beijing &ndash; the kinds that Obama sought to sooth by becoming the first US president to visit China during his first year in office.

Through Obama&rsquo;s terms in office, Sino-US ties grew within a theoretical framework of expanding cooperation while containing conflict. In a sense that axiom was adhered to.

While the Obama White House resisted the Chinese narrative of designating ties as a &ldquo;new type of great power relationship,&rdquo; Obama did acknowledge that the China-US relationship was the &ldquo;most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century&rdquo;.

Despite the inherent frictions in the relationship, Obama and Xi met on 11 different occasions since 2013. Their interactions often showcased a strong personal rapport, whether it was in the heat of the desert in Sunnylands in 2013 or under the cool blue lights of the imperial gardens of Zhongnanhai in November 2014.

While fundamental irritants - such as North Korea, the South China Sea dispute, differences at the UN Security Council, along with trade, currency valuation and cyber-security &ndash; have persisted, there has been historic cooperation in areas where interests have coincided, such as combating climate change and arriving at a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme.

Most importantly, however, the Obama years showed that strategic containment of China is a venture that is destined to fail. For instance, while Obama negotiated the TPP, which today lies in ruins, China has moved ahead with its Belt and Road Initiative and expanded its influence through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

With the arrival of Trump and his hostile approach to economic globalisation, Xi has sought to position himself as the face of an interconnected world, as evident in his recent address in Davos.

Another such scenario was witnessed last week. As Trump signed an executive order to demolish an array of anti-global warming policies at home, Chinese state media showcased images of Xi planting trees with primary school students in Beijing, promising to build an ecological civilisation. While Trump has indicated that he will be pulling out of the Paris climate change accord, Xi has vowed that China will remain true to its commitments to combat global warming.

So, when it comes to optics, Beijing has clearly out-done the Trump White House, although given the new US President&rsquo;s rhetorical incoherence, one can legitimately argue that this wasn&rsquo;t really a difficult task.

In terms of the bilateral relationship, Trump, it seems, has steadily climbed down from the vitriol of the campaign and transition periods.

For instance, in December Trump called Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, raising doubts whether he would respect the One-China policy. By February, however, he agreed to support the One-China policy during a phone conversation with Xi.

Likewise, all the campaign trail threats of designating China as a currency manipulator have not led to any policy action so far. Moreover, as has been the case so far under Trump, the President&rsquo;s off-the-cuff and often abrasive Twitter rhetoric has been balanced out by his diplomatic emissaries.

During his visit to Beijing in March, US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, went as far as borrowing Chinese catchphrases - &ldquo;non-confrontation&rdquo;, &ldquo;no conflict&rdquo;, &ldquo;mutual respect&rdquo; and &ldquo;win-win solutions&rdquo; - to describe Sino-US ties. That led to a rather strange media debate, with commentators speculating that despite the Twitter hostility, the new US administration will actually be more accommodating of China&rsquo;s great power narrative than Obama was.

Finally, while Trump has continued to lash out at Beijing for not doing enough to rein in an aggressive Pyongyang and threatened to go it alone against the North with the military option being on the table, the truth is that there are very few realistic options available for Washington to explore.

China, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of Pyongyang&rsquo;s trade, says that its influence over North Korea is overstated by Washington. It has consistently argued that it is Washington&rsquo;s aggression, such as the recent joint military drills with Seoul in the region, which is making it difficult to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

Beijing has reportedly proposed a &quot;double halt&quot; approach, with all sides dialing down the aggression. But that&rsquo;s a concept that the US State Department has already dismissed.

If for argument&#39;s sake, we assume that Trump is correct and that Beijing can do more to contain North Korea, but has been shirking that responsibility, then what is it that Washington can offer to encourage a policy shift?

In an interview to the Financial Times ahead of Xi&rsquo;s visit, Trump is quoted as saying &ldquo;trade is the incentive. It&rsquo;s all about trade&rdquo;. But given that the US trade deficit with China stands at $347 billion, a figure that Trump has promised to bring down, what sort of incentives can Trump realistically offer? Perhaps, we&rsquo;ll all have a better idea by April 6.

But from assessing what we&rsquo;ve seen so far, don&rsquo;t hold your breath: Trump isn&rsquo;t likely to follow up on the tough talk with serious action or a grand bargain just yet.

(WION)

Washington expects Beijing to do more in reining in North Korea but what incentives can US offer for such a policy shift remains to be seen

So far, it’s all been about allies, but this week will be different. US President Donald Trump is set to host his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a two-day summit at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6-7. The meeting between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies, as Trump predicted in a tweet, is expected to be “a difficult one”. Sino-US ties had witnessed steady growth under Barack Obama, both in style and substance. For starters, Obama’s much-vaunted and now abandoned pivot to Asia led to anxieties in Beijing – the kinds that Obama sought to sooth by becoming the first US president to visit China during his first year in office. Through Obama’s terms in office, Sino-US ties grew within a theoretical framework of expanding cooperation while containing conflict. In a sense that axiom was adhered to. While the Obama White House resisted the Chinese narrative of designating ties as a “new type of great power relationship,” Obama did acknowledge that the China-US relationship was the “most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century”. Despite the inherent frictions in the relationship, Obama and Xi met on 11 different occasions since 2013. Their interactions often showcased a strong personal rapport, whether it was in the heat of the desert in Sunnylands in 2013 or under the cool blue lights of the imperial gardens of Zhongnanhai in November 2014. While fundamental irritants - such as North Korea, the South China Sea dispute, differences at the UN Security Council, along with trade, currency valuation and cyber-security – have persisted, there has been historic cooperation in areas where interests have coincided, such as combating climate change and arriving at a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme. Most importantly, however, the Obama years showed that strategic containment of China is a venture that is destined to fail. For instance, while Obama negotiated the TPP, which today lies in ruins, China has moved ahead with its Belt and Road Initiative and expanded its influence through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). With the arrival of Trump and his hostile approach to economic globalisation, Xi has sought to position himself as the face of an interconnected world, as evident in his recent address in Davos. Another such scenario was witnessed last week. As Trump signed an executive order to demolish an array of anti-global warming policies at home, Chinese state media showcased images of Xi planting trees with primary school students in Beijing, promising to build an ecological civilisation. While Trump has indicated that he will be pulling out of the Paris climate change accord, Xi has vowed that China will remain true to its commitments to combat global warming. So, when it comes to optics, Beijing has clearly out-done the Trump White House, although given the new US President’s rhetorical incoherence, one can legitimately argue that this wasn’t really a difficult task. In terms of the bilateral relationship, Trump, it seems, has steadily climbed down from the vitriol of the campaign and transition periods. For instance, in December Trump called Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, raising doubts whether he would respect the One-China policy. By February, however, he agreed to support the One-China policy during a phone conversation with Xi. Likewise, all the campaign trail threats of designating China as a currency manipulator have not led to any policy action so far. Moreover, as has been the case so far under Trump, the President’s off-the-cuff and often abrasive Twitter rhetoric has been balanced out by his diplomatic emissaries. During his visit to Beijing in March, US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, went as far as borrowing Chinese catchphrases - “non-confrontation”, “no conflict”, “mutual respect” and “win-win solutions” - to describe Sino-US ties. That led to a rather strange media debate, with commentators speculating that despite the Twitter hostility, the new US administration will actually be more accommodating of China’s great power narrative than Obama was. Finally, while Trump has continued to lash out at Beijing for not doing enough to rein in an aggressive Pyongyang and threatened to go it alone against the North with the military option being on the table, the truth is that there are very few realistic options available for Washington to explore. China, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of Pyongyang’s trade, says that its influence over North Korea is overstated by Washington. It has consistently argued that it is Washington’s aggression, such as the recent joint military drills with Seoul in the region, which is making it difficult to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table. Beijing has reportedly proposed a "double halt" approach, with all sides dialing down the aggression. But that’s a concept that the US State Department has already dismissed. If for argument's sake, we assume that Trump is correct and that Beijing can do more to contain North Korea, but has been shirking that responsibility, then what is it that Washington can offer to encourage a policy shift? In an interview to the Financial Times ahead of Xi’s visit, Trump is quoted as saying “trade is the incentive. It’s all about trade”. But given that the US trade deficit with China stands at $347 billion, a figure that Trump has promised to bring down, what sort of incentives can Trump realistically offer? Perhaps, we’ll all have a better idea by April 6. But from assessing what we’ve seen so far, don’t hold your breath: Trump isn’t likely to follow up on the tough talk with serious action or a grand bargain just yet. (WION)

Xi-Trump summit talks: Washington can't ignore a resurgent China

A US diplomat has been expelled from&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;after Washington refused to waive diplomatic immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question him, officials said.

Details of the alleged crime have not been revealed but local media reported the diplomat left the South Pacific nation last week suffering a broken nose and black eye.

Foreign affairs minister Murray McCully said he was &quot;disappointed&quot; at the US refusal to waive immunity and in response asked for the person&#39;s withdrawal from&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand.

&quot;Officials in Wellington and our ambassador in Washington DC have clearly conveyed to the United States the expectation that foreign diplomats obey the law in&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;and are seen to face justice in&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand,&quot; he said in a statement released to AFP Monday.

Police said they were called to an incident in Lower Hutt, on Wellington&#39;s outskirts, in the early hours of March 12, which &quot;involved an individual from the US embassy in Wellington&quot;.

By the time they arrived the person had left the scene and no arrests were made.

Attempts to further investigate hit a diplomatic brick wall.

McCully said foreign affairs officials relayed a police request to waive immunity but their US counterparts refused.

Local media named the diplomat as Colin White and said he left Wellington with his wife and children.

TVNZ, which broke the story, reported that White was a technical attach&eacute; who had been working closely with&nbsp;NewZealand&#39;s intelligence service, the GCSB.

A spokeswoman for the US embassy said they were &quot;communicating with&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;authorities&quot; on the issue.

&quot;As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the specifics of matters under investigation,&quot; she said in a statement.

&quot;We take seriously any suggestion that our staff have fallen short of the high standards of conduct expected of US government personnel.&quot;

McCully said the US had stated it always fully investigated all allegations involving its diplomatic staff.

Diplomatic immunity, formalised in the 1961 Vienna Convention, means foreign envoys are protected from local law enforcement in the country to which they are posted.

The most recent known case of&nbsp;it being invoked in&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;was in 2014, when Malaysian military attach&eacute; Mohammed Rizalman bin Ismail was accused of indecent assault.

It was eventually revoked and Rizalman was sentenced to nine months&#39; home detention after being found guilty in a Wellington court.

(AFP)

Washington had refused to waive his diplomatic immunity to allow police questioning over a serious crime

A US diplomat has been expelled from New Zealand after Washington refused to waive diplomatic immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question him, officials said. Details of the alleged crime have not been revealed but local media reported the diplomat left the South Pacific nation last week suffering a broken nose and black eye. Foreign affairs minister Murray McCully said he was "disappointed" at the US refusal to waive immunity and in response asked for the person's withdrawal from New Zealand. "Officials in Wellington and our ambassador in Washington DC have clearly conveyed to the United States the expectation that foreign diplomats obey the law in New Zealand and are seen to face justice in New Zealand," he said in a statement released to AFP Monday. Police said they were called to an incident in Lower Hutt, on Wellington's outskirts, in the early hours of March 12, which "involved an individual from the US embassy in Wellington". By the time they arrived the person had left the scene and no arrests were made. Attempts to further investigate hit a diplomatic brick wall. McCully said foreign affairs officials relayed a police request to waive immunity but their US counterparts refused. Local media named the diplomat as Colin White and said he left Wellington with his wife and children. TVNZ, which broke the story, reported that White was a technical attaché who had been working closely with NewZealand's intelligence service, the GCSB. A spokeswoman for the US embassy said they were "communicating with New Zealand authorities" on the issue. "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the specifics of matters under investigation," she said in a statement. "We take seriously any suggestion that our staff have fallen short of the high standards of conduct expected of US government personnel." McCully said the US had stated it always fully investigated all allegations involving its diplomatic staff. Diplomatic immunity, formalised in the 1961 Vienna Convention, means foreign envoys are protected from local law enforcement in the country to which they are posted. The most recent known case of it being invoked in New Zealand was in 2014, when Malaysian military attaché Mohammed Rizalman bin Ismail was accused of indecent assault. It was eventually revoked and Rizalman was sentenced to nine months' home detention after being found guilty in a Wellington court. (AFP)

New Zealand expels US diplomat after police probe impeded

The top prosecutor in the state of Washington said Thursday that his office was filing a motion to block President Donald Trump&#39;s revised travel ban targeting citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.

This comes after Hawaii became the first US state to challenge the travel decree brought in by Trump.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump&#39;s initial travel ban that created chaos worldwide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states are expected to join the new legal battle.

He said his motion calls on an existing injunction against the travel ban issued in January to be applied to the new directive.

&quot;We&#39;re asserting that the president cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court&#39;s restraining order and injunction,&quot; Ferguson told reporters.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s our view that the temporary restraining order that we&#39;ve already obtained remains in effect.&quot;

He said although the revised order issued on Monday was narrower in scope, it still could be challenged on constitutional grounds.

Hawaii on Tuesday filed the first legal challenge to the new executive order.

The new order denies US entry to all refugees for 120 days and halts for 90 days the granting of visas to nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. It is due to take effect on March 16.

The first order had also applied to citizens of Iraq but the country was dropped from the new list.

(AFP)

Washington was also the first state to challenge Trump's initial travel ban that aimed to debar travellers from 8 mainly Muslim countries

The top prosecutor in the state of Washington said Thursday that his office was filing a motion to block President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting citizens of six Muslim-majority countries. This comes after Hawaii became the first US state to challenge the travel decree brought in by Trump. Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump's initial travel ban that created chaos worldwide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states are expected to join the new legal battle. He said his motion calls on an existing injunction against the travel ban issued in January to be applied to the new directive. "We're asserting that the president cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court's restraining order and injunction," Ferguson told reporters. "It's our view that the temporary restraining order that we've already obtained remains in effect." He said although the revised order issued on Monday was narrower in scope, it still could be challenged on constitutional grounds. Hawaii on Tuesday filed the first legal challenge to the new executive order. The new order denies US entry to all refugees for 120 days and halts for 90 days the granting of visas to nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. It is due to take effect on March 16. The first order had also applied to citizens of Iraq but the country was dropped from the new list. (AFP)

Washington, Hawaii plan to block Trump's revised travel ban

President Donald Trump&#39;s next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn.

Trump fired Flynn, a retired US&nbsp;Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed US&nbsp;sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador in Washington ahead of Trump&#39;s inauguration and later misled vice president Mike Pence about the conversations.

His first choice to fill the job, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, is also no longer on the president&#39;s short list.

Sources familiar with the candidates&#39;&nbsp;thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on `Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace` that the new adviser &quot;can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing&quot;.

He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they &quot;hadn&#39;t really gone down the road&quot; with Petraeus.

The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the US&nbsp;Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies.&nbsp;

Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon`s addition has drawn sharp criticism due his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News.

Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former US&nbsp;ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General HR&nbsp;McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen are currently on the president`s list.

McMaster holds a senior post with the US&nbsp;Army Training and Doctrine Command. Caslen is superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

&quot;I&#39;ll make a decision over the next couple of days,&quot; Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One.

&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida

President Donald Trump's next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn. Trump fired Flynn, a retired US Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed US sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration and later misled vice president Mike Pence about the conversations. His first choice to fill the job, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, is also no longer on the president's short list. Sources familiar with the candidates' thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on `Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace` that the new adviser "can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing". He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they "hadn't really gone down the road" with Petraeus. The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the US Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies. Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon`s addition has drawn sharp criticism due his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News. Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General HR McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen are currently on the president`s list. McMaster holds a senior post with the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. Caslen is superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "I'll make a decision over the next couple of days," Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One. (Reuters)

Trump's national security candidates promised autonomy as hunt continues

Russia is ready to become a &quot;new reliable partner&quot; of the Philippines to supply the traditional US&nbsp;ally with sophisticated weapons, Russia&#39;s ambassador said on Wednesday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has thrown the future of Philippine-US&nbsp;relations into question with angry outbursts against the former colonial power and some scaling back of military ties while taking steps to boost ties with China and Russia.

Illustrating the transformation of Philippine foreign relations since Duterte took office in June, two Russian warships are on four-day visit to Manila this week, the first official navy-to-navy contact between the two countries.

Russian Ambassador Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev took the opportunity to hold a news conference on board the anti-submarine vessel Admiral Tributs. He said he understood that the Philippines was intent on diversifying its foreign partners.

&quot;It&#39;s not a choice between these partners and those ones. Diversification means preserving and keeping old traditional partners and getting new ones,&quot; he said.

&quot;We don&#39;t interfere with your relations with your traditional partners, and your traditional partners should respect the interest of the Philippines and Russia.&quot;

The Russian navy visit comes less than a month after Duterte sent his foreign and defence ministers to Moscow to discuss arms deals after a US&nbsp;senator said he would block the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines, due to concern about a rising death toll in a &quot;war on drugs&quot; launched by Duterte.

Khovaev said Russia had a range of weapons to offer.

&quot;We are ready to supply small arms and light weapons, some aeroplanes, helicopters, submarines and many, many other weapons. Sophisticated weapons. Not the second-hand ones,&quot; Khovaev said.

He said it was too early to talk about the scope of military cooperation but, in a clear reference to the United States, said old allies should not worry.

Earlier, a US Senator said Washington will stop selling the Philippines guns as Duterte's 'drug war' that has killed thousands continues

Russia is ready to become a "new reliable partner" of the Philippines to supply the traditional US ally with sophisticated weapons, Russia's ambassador said on Wednesday. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has thrown the future of Philippine-US relations into question with angry outbursts against the former colonial power and some scaling back of military ties while taking steps to boost ties with China and Russia. Illustrating the transformation of Philippine foreign relations since Duterte took office in June, two Russian warships are on four-day visit to Manila this week, the first official navy-to-navy contact between the two countries. Russian Ambassador Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev took the opportunity to hold a news conference on board the anti-submarine vessel Admiral Tributs. He said he understood that the Philippines was intent on diversifying its foreign partners. "It's not a choice between these partners and those ones. Diversification means preserving and keeping old traditional partners and getting new ones," he said. "We don't interfere with your relations with your traditional partners, and your traditional partners should respect the interest of the Philippines and Russia." The Russian navy visit comes less than a month after Duterte sent his foreign and defence ministers to Moscow to discuss arms deals after a US senator said he would block the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines, due to concern about a rising death toll in a "war on drugs" launched by Duterte. Khovaev said Russia had a range of weapons to offer. "We are ready to supply small arms and light weapons, some aeroplanes, helicopters, submarines and many, many other weapons. Sophisticated weapons. Not the second-hand ones," Khovaev said. He said it was too early to talk about the scope of military cooperation but, in a clear reference to the United States, said old allies should not worry.

Putin offers Duterte arms and close friendship

President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations.

In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear on Friday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace talks, if they happened, would be in addition to intermittent UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva.

&quot;The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria,&quot; Putin said in Tokyo. &quot;We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey.&quot;

Putin, who has leveraged Russia&#39;s role in Syria to boost his diplomatic muscle, said the talks proposal was being put to the Syrian government and the opposition. Kazakhstan, the proposed venue, is a Russian ally, and Putin said the talks could take place in Astana, the Kazakh capital.

The surprise move underlines the growing strength of Moscow&#39;s rapprochement with Ankara, with which it fell out last year over the shooting down of a Russian plane, and reflects Russia&#39;s desire to cement its growing influence in the Middle East and more widely.

It also shows how fed up Russia is with what it sees as long and pointless talks with the Obama administration over Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week dismissed those talks as &quot;fruitless sitting around&quot; and said Ankara might prove a more effective partner on Syria.

Turkey, which wants to boost its global sway too, is also deeply frustrated by US&nbsp;policy in Syria, particularly Washington&#39;s support for Kurdish militia fighters it sees as a hostile force, and by what it views as Barack Obama&#39;s failure to give enough support to the rebels.

Putin played down the idea that the talks would sideline or overshadow similar talks brokered by the United Nations that have been held intermittently in Geneva.

&quot;It won&rsquo;t compete with the Geneva talks, but will complement them. Wherever the conflicting sides meet, in my view it is the right thing to do to try to find a political solution,&quot; he said.

The initiative is unlikely to go down well with UN&nbsp;envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura however. He told reporters in Paris on Thursday that it was time for all sides to return to the table, but the United Nations would have to broker any talks for them to have legitimacy.

&nbsp;

ODD COUPLE

Russia still hopes it can co-operate on Syria with the United States and join forces with Washington against Islamic State once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

But Trump will not be inaugurated until January&nbsp;20, leaving a power vacuum, and is likely in any case to need some time to formulate foreign policy.

The alliance between Moscow and Ankara is at first glance an odd one. Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s closest allies, while Turkey, a NATO member, wants him removed.

But Ankara may be ready to accept a transition in which Assad is involved, provided he ultimately relinquishes power.

Turkey&#39;s main priority, on which it will want at least tacit Russian agreement, is to ensure that Kurdish militias are unable to gain further territory in Syria along its borders.

Ankara launched an incursion into Syria, &quot;Operation Euphrates Shield&quot;, in August to push Islamic State out of a 90-km (55-mile) stretch of frontier territory and prevent Kurdish groups from seizing ground in their wake.

Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli acknowledged two weeks ago that Turkey &quot;would not have moved so comfortably&quot; without the rapprochement with Russia, which effectively controls parts of northern Syrian air space.

Turkey now wants the rebels it supports to push further south into Syria and take the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, around 40 kilometres northeast of Aleppo.

Erdogan is determined that the Turkish-backed rebels capture the city to prevent Kurdish militias from doing so. But that ambition could cause difficulties with Moscow, as al-Bab lies close to the front lines of Assad&#39;s allies.

&nbsp;

ALEPPO DEAL

Putin had only warm words for the prospect of deeper Russo-Turkish co-operation however and said the evacuation of rebels from Aleppo was something that he and Erdogan had agreed on.

He hoped the Syrian army would be able to consolidate its position in Aleppo and civilians return to normal life.

The RIA agency this week quoted Andrei Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, as saying it had been easier to deal with Turkey on Aleppo than the United States.

&quot;It was much more straightforward to reach agreements with Turkey than with the Americans,&quot; he was cited as saying.

Putin played down the Syrian government&#39;s recent loss of Palmyra to Islamic State, blaming the lack of coordination between the US

led coalition, the Syrian authorities, and Russia for the setback.

&ldquo;Everything that is happening in Palmyra is the result of uncoordinated action,&quot; said Putin.

&ldquo;The question of Palmyra is purely symbolic. Aleppo is much more important from a military-political point of view.&rdquo;

(Reuters)

In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear on Friday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey

President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations. In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear on Friday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace talks, if they happened, would be in addition to intermittent UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva. "The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria," Putin said in Tokyo. "We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey." Putin, who has leveraged Russia's role in Syria to boost his diplomatic muscle, said the talks proposal was being put to the Syrian government and the opposition. Kazakhstan, the proposed venue, is a Russian ally, and Putin said the talks could take place in Astana, the Kazakh capital. The surprise move underlines the growing strength of Moscow's rapprochement with Ankara, with which it fell out last year over the shooting down of a Russian plane, and reflects Russia's desire to cement its growing influence in the Middle East and more widely. It also shows how fed up Russia is with what it sees as long and pointless talks with the Obama administration over Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week dismissed those talks as "fruitless sitting around" and said Ankara might prove a more effective partner on Syria. Turkey, which wants to boost its global sway too, is also deeply frustrated by US policy in Syria, particularly Washington's support for Kurdish militia fighters it sees as a hostile force, and by what it views as Barack Obama's failure to give enough support to the rebels. Putin played down the idea that the talks would sideline or overshadow similar talks brokered by the United Nations that have been held intermittently in Geneva. "It won’t compete with the Geneva talks, but will complement them. Wherever the conflicting sides meet, in my view it is the right thing to do to try to find a political solution," he said. The initiative is unlikely to go down well with UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura however. He told reporters in Paris on Thursday that it was time for all sides to return to the table, but the United Nations would have to broker any talks for them to have legitimacy. ODD COUPLE Russia still hopes it can co-operate on Syria with the United States and join forces with Washington against Islamic State once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. But Trump will not be inaugurated until January 20, leaving a power vacuum, and is likely in any case to need some time to formulate foreign policy. The alliance between Moscow and Ankara is at first glance an odd one. Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest allies, while Turkey, a NATO member, wants him removed. But Ankara may be ready to accept a transition in which Assad is involved, provided he ultimately relinquishes power. Turkey's main priority, on which it will want at least tacit Russian agreement, is to ensure that Kurdish militias are unable to gain further territory in Syria along its borders. Ankara launched an incursion into Syria, "Operation Euphrates Shield", in August to push Islamic State out of a 90-km (55-mile) stretch of frontier territory and prevent Kurdish groups from seizing ground in their wake. Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli acknowledged two weeks ago that Turkey "would not have moved so comfortably" without the rapprochement with Russia, which effectively controls parts of northern Syrian air space. Turkey now wants the rebels it supports to push further south into Syria and take the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, around 40 kilometres northeast of Aleppo. Erdogan is determined that the Turkish-backed rebels capture the city to prevent Kurdish militias from doing so. But that ambition could cause difficulties with Moscow, as al-Bab lies close to the front lines of Assad's allies. ALEPPO DEAL Putin had only warm words for the prospect of deeper Russo-Turkish co-operation however and said the evacuation of rebels from Aleppo was something that he and Erdogan had agreed on. He hoped the Syrian army would be able to consolidate its position in Aleppo and civilians return to normal life. The RIA agency this week quoted Andrei Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, as saying it had been easier to deal with Turkey on Aleppo than the United States. "It was much more straightforward to reach agreements with Turkey than with the Americans," he was cited as saying. Putin played down the Syrian government's recent loss of Palmyra to Islamic State, blaming the lack of coordination between the US led coalition, the Syrian authorities, and Russia for the setback. “Everything that is happening in Palmyra is the result of uncoordinated action," said Putin. “The question of Palmyra is purely symbolic. Aleppo is much more important from a military-political point of view.” (Reuters)

Putin and Erdogan push for Syria talks without US or UN

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday chose Andrew F. Puzder as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor.

&ldquo;Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,&rdquo; Mr. Trump said in a statement to New York Times.

Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, which operates the Carl`s Jr. and Hardee`s fast-food chains, has been a vehement critic of government regulation of the workplace.

He has criticized paid sick leave policies of the sort recently enacted for federal contractors and strongly supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he says has created a &ldquo;government-mandated restaurant recession&rdquo; because rising premiums have left people with less money to spend on dining out.

Speaking to Business Insider this year, Mr. Puzder said that increased automation could be a welcome development because machines were &ldquo;always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there&rsquo;s never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case.&rdquo;

On the political incorrectness front, Mr. Puzder&rsquo;s company, CKE Restaurants, runs advertisements that frequently feature women wearing next to nothing while gesturing suggestively. &ldquo;I like our ads,&rdquo; he told the publication Entrepreneur. &ldquo;I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it&rsquo;s very American.&rdquo;

Matthew Haller, senior vice president for public affairs and communications at the International Franchise Association, of which Mr. Puzder is a board member, said Mr. Puzder saw &ldquo;a role for government to provide advice to employers, rather than simply deterrence by &lsquo;gotcha&rsquo; enforcement,&rdquo; an allusion to the Obama Labor Department&rsquo;s enforcement of laws and regulations in the fast-food industry.

In an appearance on Fox Business in May Puzder, he said that he was &ldquo;not opposed to raising the minimum wage rationally; I&rsquo;m opposed to raising it to the point where lower-skilled workers, working-class Americans, young people, minorities, are losing the jobs they need to get on the ladder of success.&rdquo;

CRITICISM

Trump&#39;s this decision of chosing Puzder is drawing criticism from labour advocates worried about his opposition to a higher minimum wage and government regulation of the workplace.

Fast-food workers, who are largely not unionized, are engaged in a multi-year campaign known as the &quot;Fight for $15,&quot; which is supported by labour unions, to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour. They have had state-wide successes in New York and California and in cities and municipalities such as Seattle.

Republican Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month&#39;s election by carrying swing states - and some traditionally Democratic states - in the U.S. Rust Belt after promising to create jobs and to review or cancel trade deals that he said were bad for workers.

Labor leaders have been girding for Trump to appoint pro-business regulators at the Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board, and to roll back key regulatory initiatives of the Obama administration such as a Labor Department rule granting overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers, both unionized and not unionized.

Economic research suggests that an increase to the vicinity of $10.10 per hour would have little or no effect on employment in much of the country, though the impact could be larger in low-wage, low-cost areas. Mr. Puzder has raised concerns about the effects in those regions.

On other issues, Mr. Puzder has taken hard-line positions that leave less room for negotiation. Perhaps most prominent is the so-called joint employer doctrine that the Obama administration and its agency appointees have put forth in recent years.

Under that doctrine, large companies that have franchises or hire other companies as contractors are more likely to be held liable for violations of employment laws by those contractors or franchisees. Parent companies typically argue that they have no legal responsibility in these cases.

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Mr. Puzder is how he would be perceived as a wealthy chief executive charged with looking out for workers&rsquo; interests.

According to a 2012 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Puzder&rsquo;s base salary that year was more than $1 million and his total compensation over $4 million, down from more than $10 million the year before. &ldquo;Annual base salaries should be competitive and create a measure of financial security for our executive officers,&rdquo; the filing said.

&nbsp; 
(WION, with inputs from New York Times and Reuters)

Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, has been a vehement critic of govt regulation of the workplace

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday chose Andrew F. Puzder as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor. “Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” Mr. Trump said in a statement to New York Times. Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, which operates the Carl`s Jr. and Hardee`s fast-food chains, has been a vehement critic of government regulation of the workplace. He has criticized paid sick leave policies of the sort recently enacted for federal contractors and strongly supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he says has created a “government-mandated restaurant recession” because rising premiums have left people with less money to spend on dining out. Speaking to Business Insider this year, Mr. Puzder said that increased automation could be a welcome development because machines were “always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case.” On the political incorrectness front, Mr. Puzder’s company, CKE Restaurants, runs advertisements that frequently feature women wearing next to nothing while gesturing suggestively. “I like our ads,” he told the publication Entrepreneur. “I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.” Matthew Haller, senior vice president for public affairs and communications at the International Franchise Association, of which Mr. Puzder is a board member, said Mr. Puzder saw “a role for government to provide advice to employers, rather than simply deterrence by ‘gotcha’ enforcement,” an allusion to the Obama Labor Department’s enforcement of laws and regulations in the fast-food industry. In an appearance on Fox Business in May Puzder, he said that he was “not opposed to raising the minimum wage rationally; I’m opposed to raising it to the point where lower-skilled workers, working-class Americans, young people, minorities, are losing the jobs they need to get on the ladder of success.” CRITICISM Trump's this decision of chosing Puzder is drawing criticism from labour advocates worried about his opposition to a higher minimum wage and government regulation of the workplace. Fast-food workers, who are largely not unionized, are engaged in a multi-year campaign known as the "Fight for $15," which is supported by labour unions, to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour. They have had state-wide successes in New York and California and in cities and municipalities such as Seattle. Republican Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's election by carrying swing states - and some traditionally Democratic states - in the U.S. Rust Belt after promising to create jobs and to review or cancel trade deals that he said were bad for workers. Labor leaders have been girding for Trump to appoint pro-business regulators at the Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board, and to roll back key regulatory initiatives of the Obama administration such as a Labor Department rule granting overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers, both unionized and not unionized. Economic research suggests that an increase to the vicinity of $10.10 per hour would have little or no effect on employment in much of the country, though the impact could be larger in low-wage, low-cost areas. Mr. Puzder has raised concerns about the effects in those regions. On other issues, Mr. Puzder has taken hard-line positions that leave less room for negotiation. Perhaps most prominent is the so-called joint employer doctrine that the Obama administration and its agency appointees have put forth in recent years. Under that doctrine, large companies that have franchises or hire other companies as contractors are more likely to be held liable for violations of employment laws by those contractors or franchisees. Parent companies typically argue that they have no legal responsibility in these cases. Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Mr. Puzder is how he would be perceived as a wealthy chief executive charged with looking out for workers’ interests. According to a 2012 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Puzder’s base salary that year was more than $1 million and his total compensation over $4 million, down from more than $10 million the year before. “Annual base salaries should be competitive and create a measure of financial security for our executive officers,” the filing said. (WION, with inputs from New York Times and Reuters)

Andrew F. Puzder is Trump's Labor pick

Win or lose, Donald Trump&#39;s campaign has changed the way countries in Asia view their relationships with Washington.

Final opinion polls suggested the most likely outcome is a victory for Hillary Clinton. But even Clinton, an architect of the US strategic pivot to Asia, has some work ahead of her in rebuilding trust, analysts and former officials in Asia said.

&quot;With or without Trump, this marks the end of US leadership, in particular, moral leadership,&quot; said a former Japanese diplomat, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic.

&quot;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s a question of Trump as an individual, but a question of the US society that produced this man as the Republican candidate.&quot;

Trump upended US democratic traditions during his White House campaign, drawing enthusiastic crowds where people cheered his often provocative and outrageous remarks.&nbsp;

He described a dark America, knocked to its knees by China, Mexico and the Islamic state.

Trump&#39;s harnessing of a populist backlash against immigration and global trade has challenged the ideal of benevolent American power that helped shape the global economy - and the forces of globalisation - since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Now the United States faces a rising China, long an economic force and now becoming more assertive in geopolitics - building its military capability and ignoring an international tribunal&#39;s ruling against its claims to most of the South China Sea.

Trans-Pacific partnership

Asia is most worried about trade protectionism - exports make up a quarter of Asia&#39;s GDP and a fifth of them go to the United States.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, championed by President Barack Obama in part to increase US influence in Asia, was to be an essential feature of Washington&#39;s strategic pivot to Asia - an &quot;economic NATO&quot;.

It now looks dead in the water. Both Clinton and Trump oppose the deal, which would set up a free trade zone among 12 countries that excludes China.

With US allies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore among the biggest winners of an open trade regime, a more isolationist and protectionist stance will cost Washington influence in Asia.

Ironically, it would be China, the subject of many of Trump&#39;s tirades, that could emerge the big winner as uncertainty over Washington&#39;s future commitment to Asia pushes countries into dealing more closely with Beijing.

&quot;If the US pulls out of TPP, that will certainly increase China&#39;s influence in Asia,&quot; said Kanti Bajpai, Professor of Asian Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

&quot;Already, US criticism of domestic issues in Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia has alienated those countries and caused them to lean towards Beijing. Pulling out of the TPP will help China geopolitically.&quot;

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been particularly hostile towards Washington over its criticism of his lethal anti-drugs campaign, announcing a &quot;separation&quot; from the United States during last month&#39;s visit to China. 
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak came back from a visit to China last week with $34 billion worth of deals and an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels.

Security concerns

China has long been in Trump&#39;s sights, with promises to declare it a currency manipulator and impose punitive tariffs on imports. But any such moves could also hurt Asian exporters who ship components there for assembly and export to the United States, at a time when global trade is already weakening.

Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, said the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea were the emerging Asia economies most vulnerable to a Trump presidency.

&quot;Perhaps the biggest risk to the region&#39;s economies, however, stems not from Trump&#39;s trade policies, but from his foreign policy,&quot; Leather said.

Trump has created doubts over his commitment to security alliances, suggesting Japan and South Korea need to pay more for a US military presence and that they should even develop their own nuclear capability to counter China and North Korea.

Clinton, who was secretary of state when the Obama administration launched its Asia pivot, is expected to maintain Obama&#39;s foreign policy, with some seeing her as being more hawkish.

The divisive US presidential campaign has already done a lot of damage to the reputation of the United States in Asia, regardless of the election outcome, according to some analysts.

&quot;The broader question is whether the United States can assert global leadership,&quot; said Jesper Koll, CEO at fund manager WisdomTree Japan.

&quot;All my Chinese friends say, &#39;We thought we would run the world in 20 years. Now it&#39;s going to be in January&#39;. This is not a joke. It&#39;s the natural state of development,&quot; Koll said

(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The divisive election campaign has caused severe damage to the reputation of the US in Asia, creating doubts over economic & security ties

Win or lose, Donald Trump's campaign has changed the way countries in Asia view their relationships with Washington. Final opinion polls suggested the most likely outcome is a victory for Hillary Clinton. But even Clinton, an architect of the US strategic pivot to Asia, has some work ahead of her in rebuilding trust, analysts and former officials in Asia said. "With or without Trump, this marks the end of US leadership, in particular, moral leadership," said a former Japanese diplomat, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic. "I don't think it's a question of Trump as an individual, but a question of the US society that produced this man as the Republican candidate." Trump upended US democratic traditions during his White House campaign, drawing enthusiastic crowds where people cheered his often provocative and outrageous remarks. He described a dark America, knocked to its knees by China, Mexico and the Islamic state. Trump's harnessing of a populist backlash against immigration and global trade has challenged the ideal of benevolent American power that helped shape the global economy - and the forces of globalisation - since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Now the United States faces a rising China, long an economic force and now becoming more assertive in geopolitics - building its military capability and ignoring an international tribunal's ruling against its claims to most of the South China Sea. Trans-Pacific partnership Asia is most worried about trade protectionism - exports make up a quarter of Asia's GDP and a fifth of them go to the United States. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, championed by President Barack Obama in part to increase US influence in Asia, was to be an essential feature of Washington's strategic pivot to Asia - an "economic NATO". It now looks dead in the water. Both Clinton and Trump oppose the deal, which would set up a free trade zone among 12 countries that excludes China. With US allies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore among the biggest winners of an open trade regime, a more isolationist and protectionist stance will cost Washington influence in Asia. Ironically, it would be China, the subject of many of Trump's tirades, that could emerge the big winner as uncertainty over Washington's future commitment to Asia pushes countries into dealing more closely with Beijing. "If the US pulls out of TPP, that will certainly increase China's influence in Asia," said Kanti Bajpai, Professor of Asian Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. "Already, US criticism of domestic issues in Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia has alienated those countries and caused them to lean towards Beijing. Pulling out of the TPP will help China geopolitically." Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been particularly hostile towards Washington over its criticism of his lethal anti-drugs campaign, announcing a "separation" from the United States during last month's visit to China. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak came back from a visit to China last week with $34 billion worth of deals and an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels. Security concerns China has long been in Trump's sights, with promises to declare it a currency manipulator and impose punitive tariffs on imports. But any such moves could also hurt Asian exporters who ship components there for assembly and export to the United States, at a time when global trade is already weakening. Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, said the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea were the emerging Asia economies most vulnerable to a Trump presidency. "Perhaps the biggest risk to the region's economies, however, stems not from Trump's trade policies, but from his foreign policy," Leather said. Trump has created doubts over his commitment to security alliances, suggesting Japan and South Korea need to pay more for a US military presence and that they should even develop their own nuclear capability to counter China and North Korea. Clinton, who was secretary of state when the Obama administration launched its Asia pivot, is expected to maintain Obama's foreign policy, with some seeing her as being more hawkish. The divisive US presidential campaign has already done a lot of damage to the reputation of the United States in Asia, regardless of the election outcome, according to some analysts. "The broader question is whether the United States can assert global leadership," said Jesper Koll, CEO at fund manager WisdomTree Japan. "All my Chinese friends say, 'We thought we would run the world in 20 years. Now it's going to be in January'. This is not a joke. It's the natural state of development," Koll said (Reuters)

Asia sees changed US relationship, whoever wins

Accepting the United States is probably the world`s sole superpower, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was ready to work with Washington. 
 
Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said: &quot;America is a great power.&nbsp;Today, probably, the only superpower. We accept that.&quot; 
 
&quot;We want to and are ready to work with the United States,&quot; Putin added. 
 
Hinting to the US-EU sanctions on Russia in response to its military actions in Ukraine, Putin said: &quot;The world needs such strong nations, like the US. And we need them.&nbsp;But we don`t need them constantly getting mixed up in our affairs, instructing us how to live, preventing Europe from building a relationship with us.&quot; 
 
When asked about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, Putin called him as a &quot;flamboyant&quot; or &quot;colourful&quot; man. 
 
Putin also spoke about the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying he did not work much with her directly when she was the secretary of state. 
 
&quot;She probably has her own view of US-Russian relations,&quot; he said. The Russian President, however, praised her husband and former US president Bill Clinton. 
 
&quot;We had a very nice relationship,&quot; the Guardian quoted Putin as saying.&nbsp; 
(ANI)

Russian President doesn't really know Hillary Clinton but praises Bill

Accepting the United States is probably the world`s sole superpower, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was ready to work with Washington. Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said: "America is a great power. Today, probably, the only superpower. We accept that." "We want to and are ready to work with the United States," Putin added. Hinting to the US-EU sanctions on Russia in response to its military actions in Ukraine, Putin said: "The world needs such strong nations, like the US. And we need them. But we don`t need them constantly getting mixed up in our affairs, instructing us how to live, preventing Europe from building a relationship with us." When asked about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, Putin called him as a "flamboyant" or "colourful" man. Putin also spoke about the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying he did not work much with her directly when she was the secretary of state. "She probably has her own view of US-Russian relations," he said. The Russian President, however, praised her husband and former US president Bill Clinton. "We had a very nice relationship," the Guardian quoted Putin as saying. (ANI)

Putin says America 'probably' the only superpower and calls Donald Trump 'flamboyant'

US senators signalled today a new willingness to consider restrictions on the sale of guns after the Orlando nightclub massacre, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others in his party ready to discuss limited gun control measures. 
 
With Republicans and the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby under pressure to respond to the worst mass shooting in modern US history, Trump said he would meet with the NRA to discuss ways to block people on terrorism watch or no-fly lists from buying guns. 
 
Emotions have run high in Congress since Sunday&#39;s mass shooting with Democrats stalling Senate proceedings today in a bid to push for tougher gun control legislation. Democratic senators planned to speak on the Senate floor today. 
 
The Senate began discussions on legislation to ban firearm sales to the hundreds of thousands of people on US terrorism watch lists after a gunman who had been on such a list killed 49 people at a gay nightclub on Sunday. 
 
But following a full day of wrangling, senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said that negotiations &quot;were little more than a smokescreen by Republicans trying to give themselves political cover while they continue to march in lock-step with the NRA&#39;s extreme positions.&quot; 
 
Reid said there were no Republican proposals &quot;that come close to attracting Democratic support.&quot; 
 
Earlier today, Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell urged senators to offer ideas on how to prevent another attack like the one in Orlando. 
 
&ldquo;I do not believe this was some random act of violence,&quot; McConnell said. &quot;It seems clear this was cold-blooded murder committed by a terrorist who picked his targets with deliberate malice.&quot; On Tuesday, McConnell said that &quot;nobody wants terrorists to have firearms.&quot; 
 
Earlier in the week, some Democrats in the House of representatives interrupted a moment of silence for the victims, with shouts of &quot;Where&#39;s the bill?&quot; to protest the Republican-led chamber&#39;s refusal to consider tougher gun laws. 
 
If Congress was to pass a gun control measure, it would mark the first time in more than 20 years that lawmakers agreed on how to address the hot-button issue. A ban on semi-automatic assault weapons, such as the one used in Orlando, had gone into effect in 1994 and expired ten years later. 
 
Republicans over the years have blocked gun control measures saying they step on Americans&#39; right to bear arms as guaranteed under the US constitution 
 
Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 senate Republican, confirmed that he and Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein were holding private talks on a possible compromise bill stopping weapons sales to those on watch lists. 
 
OPPORTUNITY CITED 
 
Another Republican,senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, also is working on a bill that would keep guns from people on watch lists, a gun control group said. 
 
Toomey, who is in a possibly difficult re-election bid this year, took to the senate floor urging compromise. 
 
&ldquo;So there&rsquo;s an obvious opportunity here guys, to work together and find a solution,&rdquo; he said, adding, &quot;This is not rocket science to figure this out.&quot; 
 
A spokeswoman for Toomey, E.R. Anderson, said the senator was seeking bipartisan support for an approach that he had tentatively agreed on with gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, which is backed by ex-New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. 
 
Everytown spokeswoman Erika Lamb said the group was encouraged by the discussions but added, &quot;We are not there yet and our support for any compromise legislation is contingent on support from both Republicans and Democrats.&quot; 
 
Toomey&#39;s bill would allow the US attorney general to create a new list of &quot;likely terrorists&quot; and block any person on the list from buying or selling a gun. If someone was denied a gun, he or she would be entitled to a swift court hearing where the attorney general would have to turn over the evidence against the person. 
 
Democrats were dubious. One problem, a Democratic aide said, was that under the proposal officials would just have three days to try to block sales to anyone not already on the new list. 
 
Congressional Republicans and the NRA have thwarted previous gun control measures backed by President Barack Obama and other Democrats after other mass shootings, and supporters of new restrictions remained cautious about the moves. 
 
&quot;The Cornyn bill is outlandish and is worse than nothing. From what I&#39;m told all of the compromises proposed by Cornyn and Toomey are not at all acceptable,&quot; said senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York. 
 
Feinstein, speaking to reporters following a closed briefing from the Obama administration on the Orlando massacre, held out little hope her talks with Cornyn would bear fruit. &quot;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s going to work out,&quot; she said, but added she was still engaged in talks. 
 
NRA HAPPY TO MEET WITH TRUMP 
 
Trump said on Twitter he would meet with the NRA &quot;about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no-fly list, to buy guns.&quot; His campaign did not specify what he might support legislatively, and a spokeswoman declined to give details about the timing or nature of the meeting. 
 
The NRA, a politically influential lobbying group that claims more than 4 million members, said in a statement it was &quot;happy to meet&quot; with Trump, whom it endorsed for president on May 20. 
 
The group said in a statement that anyone on a terrorism watch list who tries to buy a gun &quot;should be thoroughly investigated&quot; by the FBI and any sale to that person delayed, a position the lobby group has long held. 
 
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who has supported gun control efforts, on Monday said she was &quot;bewildered&quot; that Republicans in Congress in December had blocked a Democratic effort to restrict gun sales to people on the watch lists. 
 
The US government maintains two terrorism watch lists: a no-fly list barring people from flying to and from the United States and a larger one that subjects travellers to greater scrutiny at airports and border crossings. 
 
An FBI official said in 2014 there were 64,000 people on the no-fly list and 800,000 on the broader list. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, the US-born son of Afghan immigrants, was on the broader list at one time. 
 
NRA executive director Chris Cox also voiced backing for legislation offered in December by Cornyn, who proposed to put gun sales on hold for 72 hours for people on watch lists. Critics have said such background checks could take longer to complete. 
 
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was too soon to tell if Republicans would support &quot;common sense&quot; steps like blocking firearm sales to people on the no-fly lists. 
(Reuters)

He said he would meet with the NRA to discuss ways to block people on terrorism watch or no-fly lists from buying guns

US senators signalled today a new willingness to consider restrictions on the sale of guns after the Orlando nightclub massacre, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others in his party ready to discuss limited gun control measures. With Republicans and the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby under pressure to respond to the worst mass shooting in modern US history, Trump said he would meet with the NRA to discuss ways to block people on terrorism watch or no-fly lists from buying guns. Emotions have run high in Congress since Sunday's mass shooting with Democrats stalling Senate proceedings today in a bid to push for tougher gun control legislation. Democratic senators planned to speak on the Senate floor today. The Senate began discussions on legislation to ban firearm sales to the hundreds of thousands of people on US terrorism watch lists after a gunman who had been on such a list killed 49 people at a gay nightclub on Sunday. But following a full day of wrangling, senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said that negotiations "were little more than a smokescreen by Republicans trying to give themselves political cover while they continue to march in lock-step with the NRA's extreme positions." Reid said there were no Republican proposals "that come close to attracting Democratic support." Earlier today, Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell urged senators to offer ideas on how to prevent another attack like the one in Orlando. “I do not believe this was some random act of violence," McConnell said. "It seems clear this was cold-blooded murder committed by a terrorist who picked his targets with deliberate malice." On Tuesday, McConnell said that "nobody wants terrorists to have firearms." Earlier in the week, some Democrats in the House of representatives interrupted a moment of silence for the victims, with shouts of "Where's the bill?" to protest the Republican-led chamber's refusal to consider tougher gun laws. If Congress was to pass a gun control measure, it would mark the first time in more than 20 years that lawmakers agreed on how to address the hot-button issue. A ban on semi-automatic assault weapons, such as the one used in Orlando, had gone into effect in 1994 and expired ten years later. Republicans over the years have blocked gun control measures saying they step on Americans' right to bear arms as guaranteed under the US constitution Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 senate Republican, confirmed that he and Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein were holding private talks on a possible compromise bill stopping weapons sales to those on watch lists. OPPORTUNITY CITED Another Republican,senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, also is working on a bill that would keep guns from people on watch lists, a gun control group said. Toomey, who is in a possibly difficult re-election bid this year, took to the senate floor urging compromise. “So there’s an obvious opportunity here guys, to work together and find a solution,” he said, adding, "This is not rocket science to figure this out." A spokeswoman for Toomey, E.R. Anderson, said the senator was seeking bipartisan support for an approach that he had tentatively agreed on with gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, which is backed by ex-New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Everytown spokeswoman Erika Lamb said the group was encouraged by the discussions but added, "We are not there yet and our support for any compromise legislation is contingent on support from both Republicans and Democrats." Toomey's bill would allow the US attorney general to create a new list of "likely terrorists" and block any person on the list from buying or selling a gun. If someone was denied a gun, he or she would be entitled to a swift court hearing where the attorney general would have to turn over the evidence against the person. Democrats were dubious. One problem, a Democratic aide said, was that under the proposal officials would just have three days to try to block sales to anyone not already on the new list. Congressional Republicans and the NRA have thwarted previous gun control measures backed by President Barack Obama and other Democrats after other mass shootings, and supporters of new restrictions remained cautious about the moves. "The Cornyn bill is outlandish and is worse than nothing. From what I'm told all of the compromises proposed by Cornyn and Toomey are not at all acceptable," said senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York. Feinstein, speaking to reporters following a closed briefing from the Obama administration on the Orlando massacre, held out little hope her talks with Cornyn would bear fruit. "I don't think it's going to work out," she said, but added she was still engaged in talks. NRA HAPPY TO MEET WITH TRUMP Trump said on Twitter he would meet with the NRA "about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no-fly list, to buy guns." His campaign did not specify what he might support legislatively, and a spokeswoman declined to give details about the timing or nature of the meeting. The NRA, a politically influential lobbying group that claims more than 4 million members, said in a statement it was "happy to meet" with Trump, whom it endorsed for president on May 20. The group said in a statement that anyone on a terrorism watch list who tries to buy a gun "should be thoroughly investigated" by the FBI and any sale to that person delayed, a position the lobby group has long held. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who has supported gun control efforts, on Monday said she was "bewildered" that Republicans in Congress in December had blocked a Democratic effort to restrict gun sales to people on the watch lists. The US government maintains two terrorism watch lists: a no-fly list barring people from flying to and from the United States and a larger one that subjects travellers to greater scrutiny at airports and border crossings. An FBI official said in 2014 there were 64,000 people on the no-fly list and 800,000 on the broader list. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, the US-born son of Afghan immigrants, was on the broader list at one time. NRA executive director Chris Cox also voiced backing for legislation offered in December by Cornyn, who proposed to put gun sales on hold for 72 hours for people on watch lists. Critics have said such background checks could take longer to complete. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was too soon to tell if Republicans would support "common sense" steps like blocking firearm sales to people on the no-fly lists. (Reuters)

After Orlando, Trump open to (some) gun control

The United States ambassador to Turkey has again denied allegations his country was involved in last month&#39;s failed coup attempt, Turkish media reported today. 
 
&quot;I just want to say again, as I&#39;ve said before and as we&#39;ve said from Washington, the United States government did not plan, direct, support or have any advance knowledge of any of the illegal activities that occurred the night of July 15 and into July 16. Full stop,&quot; US ambassador John Bass said in remarks published in English daily Hurriyet Daily News. 
 
He added that he was &quot;deeply disturbed and offended by the accusations&quot; targeting his country. 
 
The July 15 military action blamed by Ankara on US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has rattled Turkey&#39;s relations with the United States and the European Union. 
 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the West of supporting the plotters and warned Washington that relations will suffer if it fails to extradite Pennyslvania-based Gulen.&nbsp; 
 
Erdogan has also accused the US of hiding and sheltering the preacher and described the failed military action as a &quot;scenario written from outside&quot; in an allusion to foreign involvement. 
 
Shortly after the coup attempt, Labour Minister Suleyman Soylu went even further to say &quot;the United States is behind the coup.&quot; 
 
And this week, Turkey`s former army chief, Ilker Basbug, claimed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was also behind it.&nbsp; 
&quot;Frankly, if we would have had knowledge we would have told the Turkish government about it immediately,&quot; Bass said. 
 
He said the US wants to see a &quot;strong, prosperous, democratic, confident Turkey. 
 
&quot;Anyone who thinks that the United States somehow profits from Turkey being divided and destabilised I think is misreading history to a profound degree.&quot; 
 
Three days after the failed coup, Bass rebutted claims his country somehow supported the putsch. 
 
&quot;This is categorically untrue, and such speculation is harmful to the decades-long friendship between two great nations,&quot; he said in a statement on the embassy website. 
 
(AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused US of supporting plotters and warned that relations will suffer if it fails to extradite Gulen

The United States ambassador to Turkey has again denied allegations his country was involved in last month's failed coup attempt, Turkish media reported today. "I just want to say again, as I've said before and as we've said from Washington, the United States government did not plan, direct, support or have any advance knowledge of any of the illegal activities that occurred the night of July 15 and into July 16. Full stop," US ambassador John Bass said in remarks published in English daily Hurriyet Daily News. He added that he was "deeply disturbed and offended by the accusations" targeting his country. The July 15 military action blamed by Ankara on US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has rattled Turkey's relations with the United States and the European Union. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the West of supporting the plotters and warned Washington that relations will suffer if it fails to extradite Pennyslvania-based Gulen. Erdogan has also accused the US of hiding and sheltering the preacher and described the failed military action as a "scenario written from outside" in an allusion to foreign involvement. Shortly after the coup attempt, Labour Minister Suleyman Soylu went even further to say "the United States is behind the coup." And this week, Turkey`s former army chief, Ilker Basbug, claimed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was also behind it. "Frankly, if we would have had knowledge we would have told the Turkish government about it immediately," Bass said. He said the US wants to see a "strong, prosperous, democratic, confident Turkey. "Anyone who thinks that the United States somehow profits from Turkey being divided and destabilised I think is misreading history to a profound degree." Three days after the failed coup, Bass rebutted claims his country somehow supported the putsch. "This is categorically untrue, and such speculation is harmful to the decades-long friendship between two great nations," he said in a statement on the embassy website. (AFP)

US not involved in Turkey coup attempt, 'full stop', says envoy John Bass

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that US state secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed coup. 
 
Kerry&#39;s visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15. 
 
Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.&nbsp;The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation. 
 
&quot;I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August),&quot; Erdogan said in a live interview with state-run TRT television. 
 
Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey&#39;s foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen&#39;s alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added. 
 
US state department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment.&nbsp;An Istanbul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.&nbsp; 
 
Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.&nbsp;Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam. 
 
Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present &quot;genuine evidence&quot; and &quot;not allegations&quot; against Erdogan&#39;s former ally for his extradition. 
 
The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.&nbsp;US fighter jets have been using Turkey&#39;s southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria. 
 
During Thursday&#39;s live broadcast, Erdogan broke down in tears while watching a TRT documentary about civilians who lost their lives on the night of the coup.&nbsp;At least 272 people including 34 plotters were killed after people took to the streets and squares against the putschists. 
 
(AFP)

Ankara had called on Washington to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending documents claiming his involvement in the coup attempt

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that US state secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed coup. Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15. Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup. The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation. "I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said in a live interview with state-run TRT television. Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added. US state department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment. An Istanbul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan. Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt. Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam. Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition. The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria. US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria. During Thursday's live broadcast, Erdogan broke down in tears while watching a TRT documentary about civilians who lost their lives on the night of the coup. At least 272 people including 34 plotters were killed after people took to the streets and squares against the putschists. (AFP)

US state secretary Kerry to visit Turkey amid tensions over Islamic preacher Gulen's extradition

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