The Swiss ski resort town of Davos was hit by heavy snow on Sunday (January 21) two days before the start of an annual forum that will see U.S. President Donald Trump rubbing shoulders with the same &quot;globalists&quot; that he campaigned against in winning the 2016 election.

The January 23-26 forum brings together political leaders -- including Indian&#39;s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Britain&#39;s Prime Minister Theresa May -- CEOs and top bankers.

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Davos, a town nestled in the Swiss Alps, covered in a blanket of snow. (WION)
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Trump, who is scheduled to address the forum on the last day on Friday (January 26), is the first sitting US&nbsp;president to attend the forum since Bill Clinton in 2000.

His presence in the forum, aides say, is to call attention to growth in the US&nbsp;economy and the soaring stock market.

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Davos is also a popular ski attraction (WION)
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During his 2016 election campaign, Trump blamed globalization for ravaging American manufacturing jobs as companies sought to reduce labour costs by relocating to Mexico and elsewhere.

World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab told Reuters Trump&#39;s presence this year was a &quot;positive surprise&quot; and his voice, along with other world leaders would provide a balanced global outlook for the year.

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Davos is host to the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global political and business elites (WION)
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Workers were out on in force clearing the streets of snow. More snow is forecast until Monday (January 22) but Schwab says he is not worried about the weather affecting or delaying the forum.

The Swiss ski resort town of Davos was hit by heavy snow on Sunday

The Swiss ski resort town of Davos was hit by heavy snow on Sunday (January 21) two days before the start of an annual forum that will see U.S. President Donald Trump rubbing shoulders with the same "globalists" that he campaigned against in winning the 2016 election. The January 23-26 forum brings together political leaders -- including Indian's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May -- CEOs and top bankers. Davos, a town nestled in the Swiss Alps, covered in a blanket of snow. (WION) × Trump, who is scheduled to address the forum on the last day on Friday (January 26), is the first sitting US president to attend the forum since Bill Clinton in 2000. His presence in the forum, aides say, is to call attention to growth in the US economy and the soaring stock market. Davos is also a popular ski attraction (WION) × During his 2016 election campaign, Trump blamed globalization for ravaging American manufacturing jobs as companies sought to reduce labour costs by relocating to Mexico and elsewhere. World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab told Reuters Trump's presence this year was a "positive surprise" and his voice, along with other world leaders would provide a balanced global outlook for the year. Davos is host to the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global political and business elites (WION) × Workers were out on in force clearing the streets of snow. More snow is forecast until Monday (January 22) but Schwab says he is not worried about the weather affecting or delaying the forum.

Heavy snow hits Davos as forum prepares to welcome Trump, world leaders

World leaders on Saturday condoled the death of&nbsp;Cuban socialist icon Fidel Castro.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Fidel Castro as the &quot;symbol of an era&quot;, the Kremlin said in a statement.

&quot;The name of this distinguished statesman is rightly considered the symbol of an era in modern world history,&quot; Putin said in a telegram to Cuban President Raul Castro cited by the Kremlin. &quot;Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Castro, who died&nbsp;at the age of 90,&nbsp;ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half-a-century before handing over power to his brother Raul in 2008. His small army of guerrillas overthrew the military leader Fulgencio Batista in 1959 to widespread popular support and declared the revolution to be Marxist-Leninist in nature.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Castro for &quot;strengthening&quot; his island nation.

&quot;Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade,&nbsp;when there was colossal pressure on him and, he still took his country out of this blockade to a path of independent development,&quot; Interfax news agency quoted Gorbachev as saying.

&quot;In the past years, even when Fidel Castro was not formally in power, his role in strengthening the country was huge.&quot;

Gorbachev added that Castro would be remembered as a &quot;prominent politician&quot; who managed to leave a &quot;deep mark in the history of mankind.&quot;

Fidel Castro embodied Cuba&rsquo;s revolution in both its &quot;hopes&quot; and its later &quot;disappointments&quot;, French President Francois Hollande said in a statement.

&quot;An actor of the Cold War... he represented, for Cubans, pride in rejecting external domination,&quot; Hollande added, alluding to Castro&rsquo;s defiance of the United States.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said &quot;India mourns the loss of a great friend.&quot;

&quot;I extend my deepest condolences to the government and the people of Cuba on the sad demise of Fidel Castro. May his soul rest in peace,&quot; Modi said in a tweet.

&quot;We stand in support with the Cuban government and the people in this tragic hour. Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend,&quot; he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Fidel Castro will live forever.

&quot;The Chinese people have lost a good and true comrade,&quot; said Xi in a message read at the beginning of the nightly news on the country&#39;s main TV channel. &quot;Comrade Castro will live forever.&quot;

Castro was &quot;a great man of our time,&quot; said the president. &quot;History and people will remember him,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

Xi said relations between the two communist nations grew quickly thanks to Castro`s efforts after diplomatic ties were established in 1960.&nbsp;

In a documentary aired shortly after Castro&#39;s death was announced, CCTV said that Fidel Castro admired Mao Zedong and &quot;regretted not being able to get to know him.&quot;

Even though the two countries shared an ideology they remained distant due to Cuba`s closeness to the Soviet Union, China&#39;s rival from the 1960s, until Mao`s death in 1976.

There was a rapprochement after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Chinese leaders visiting Cuba several times.&nbsp; 
President Xi &quot;visited his old friend Fidel Castro&quot; in July 2014, CCTV said.

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

From former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to French President Francois Hollande, world leaders mourned Castro's death

World leaders on Saturday condoled the death of Cuban socialist icon Fidel Castro. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Fidel Castro as the "symbol of an era", the Kremlin said in a statement. "The name of this distinguished statesman is rightly considered the symbol of an era in modern world history," Putin said in a telegram to Cuban President Raul Castro cited by the Kremlin. "Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia.” Castro, who died at the age of 90, ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half-a-century before handing over power to his brother Raul in 2008. His small army of guerrillas overthrew the military leader Fulgencio Batista in 1959 to widespread popular support and declared the revolution to be Marxist-Leninist in nature. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Castro for "strengthening" his island nation. "Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade, when there was colossal pressure on him and, he still took his country out of this blockade to a path of independent development," Interfax news agency quoted Gorbachev as saying. "In the past years, even when Fidel Castro was not formally in power, his role in strengthening the country was huge." Gorbachev added that Castro would be remembered as a "prominent politician" who managed to leave a "deep mark in the history of mankind." Fidel Castro embodied Cuba’s revolution in both its "hopes" and its later "disappointments", French President Francois Hollande said in a statement. "An actor of the Cold War... he represented, for Cubans, pride in rejecting external domination," Hollande added, alluding to Castro’s defiance of the United States. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "India mourns the loss of a great friend." "I extend my deepest condolences to the government and the people of Cuba on the sad demise of Fidel Castro. May his soul rest in peace," Modi said in a tweet. "We stand in support with the Cuban government and the people in this tragic hour. Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century. India mourns the loss of a great friend," he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping said Fidel Castro will live forever. "The Chinese people have lost a good and true comrade," said Xi in a message read at the beginning of the nightly news on the country's main TV channel. "Comrade Castro will live forever." Castro was "a great man of our time," said the president. "History and people will remember him," he added. Xi said relations between the two communist nations grew quickly thanks to Castro`s efforts after diplomatic ties were established in 1960. In a documentary aired shortly after Castro's death was announced, CCTV said that Fidel Castro admired Mao Zedong and "regretted not being able to get to know him." Even though the two countries shared an ideology they remained distant due to Cuba`s closeness to the Soviet Union, China's rival from the 1960s, until Mao`s death in 1976. There was a rapprochement after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Chinese leaders visiting Cuba several times. President Xi "visited his old friend Fidel Castro" in July 2014, CCTV said. (WION with inputs from agencies)

World mourns 'Comrade Castro'

President Barack Obama on Thursday condemned the deadly attack in Nice and offered any assistance France needed to investigate. 
 
&quot;On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians,&quot; Obama said in a statement. 
 
US secretary of state John Kerry, who had been in Paris earlier in the day for a Bastille Day parade, said: &quot;The United States will continue to stand firmly with the French people during this time of tragedy. We will provide whatever support is needed.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
At least 77 people were killed and scores injured when a truck slammed into a crowd in the French Riviera city during Bastille Day celebrations. 
 
According to the Downing Street, the British Prime Minister Theresa May is being briefed on the &quot;terrible incident&quot; and &nbsp;the UK authorities stand ready to assist their French counterparts. 
 
&quot;We are shocked and concerned by the scenes there. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident on what was a day of national celebration.&quot; a Downing Street spokesman said, &quot;We stand ready to help any British nationals and to support our French partners.&quot; 
 
May, who became prime minister on Wednesday after six years as Britain&#39;s interior minister, was due to head to Scotland later Friday for talks on the Brexit vote fall-out. 
 
A foreign office spokesman said that &nbsp;they are in touch with the local authorities and are seeking more information. 
 
&quot;If you are in the area, follow the instructions of the French authorities,&quot; he added, in a message to British citizens. 
 
French local government official Sebastien Humbert told BFMTV that the driver of the truck was shot dead after barrelling down Nice`s palm-lined Promenade des Anglais in what he called &quot;a major criminal attack&quot;. 
 
Witness Roy Calley, who said he lived 200 metres from the promenade, told the BBC there was &quot;all hell breaking loose&quot; and the situation was &quot;pretty horrendous&quot;. 
 
&quot;It was a celebratory atmosphere, it was fun, people were enjoying themselves. Suddenly I heard a huge, what I can only describe as maybe an explosion or a crash. A lot of people were screaming. That was followed by what I thought were maybe gunshots.&quot; 
 
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday also pledged his support to France . 
 
&quot;Canadians are shocked by tonight&rsquo;s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims and our solidarity with the French people,&quot; Trudeau said on Twitter. 
 
Canadian opposition leader Thomas Mulcair, head of the New Democratic Party and a French citizen by marriage also offered his condolences ,&quot;We stand with those injured and the families of the many killed,&quot;
Leaders gathering for the first session of the 2016 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) stood for a moment of silence on Friday.&nbsp;

&quot;All the participants of the 11th ASEM summit, we are together with the people of France and the people of Europe. I think it&#39;s appropriate to begin our session with one minute silence,&quot; said Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. 
 
While the United Nations Security Council called the attack &quot;barbaric and cowardly&quot;,&nbsp;European Council President Donald Tusk called it &quot;a sad day for France, for Europe&quot;. He said it was &quot;tragic&quot; that &quot;the subjects of the attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity.&quot; 
 
&nbsp;Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered his &quot;condolences&quot; to the victims and said China opposed all forms of terrorism. 
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemnerd the attack in a series of tweets.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Appalled by the horrific attack in Nice. I strongly condemn such mindless acts of violence. My thoughts are with the families of deceased&quot;&nbsp;he tweeted.&nbsp;&quot;&nbsp;I hope the injured recover soon. India shares the pain &amp; stands firmly with our French sisters &amp; brothers in this hour of immense sadness.&quot; 
&nbsp;
(Agencies) 
?

US, Britain and Canada offered assistance to French government

President Barack Obama on Thursday condemned the deadly attack in Nice and offered any assistance France needed to investigate. "On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians," Obama said in a statement. US secretary of state John Kerry, who had been in Paris earlier in the day for a Bastille Day parade, said: "The United States will continue to stand firmly with the French people during this time of tragedy. We will provide whatever support is needed." At least 77 people were killed and scores injured when a truck slammed into a crowd in the French Riviera city during Bastille Day celebrations. According to the Downing Street, the British Prime Minister Theresa May is being briefed on the "terrible incident" and the UK authorities stand ready to assist their French counterparts. "We are shocked and concerned by the scenes there. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident on what was a day of national celebration." a Downing Street spokesman said, "We stand ready to help any British nationals and to support our French partners." May, who became prime minister on Wednesday after six years as Britain's interior minister, was due to head to Scotland later Friday for talks on the Brexit vote fall-out. A foreign office spokesman said that they are in touch with the local authorities and are seeking more information. "If you are in the area, follow the instructions of the French authorities," he added, in a message to British citizens. French local government official Sebastien Humbert told BFMTV that the driver of the truck was shot dead after barrelling down Nice`s palm-lined Promenade des Anglais in what he called "a major criminal attack". Witness Roy Calley, who said he lived 200 metres from the promenade, told the BBC there was "all hell breaking loose" and the situation was "pretty horrendous". "It was a celebratory atmosphere, it was fun, people were enjoying themselves. Suddenly I heard a huge, what I can only describe as maybe an explosion or a crash. A lot of people were screaming. That was followed by what I thought were maybe gunshots." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday also pledged his support to France . "Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims and our solidarity with the French people," Trudeau said on Twitter. Canadian opposition leader Thomas Mulcair, head of the New Democratic Party and a French citizen by marriage also offered his condolences ,"We stand with those injured and the families of the many killed," Leaders gathering for the first session of the 2016 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) stood for a moment of silence on Friday. "All the participants of the 11th ASEM summit, we are together with the people of France and the people of Europe. I think it's appropriate to begin our session with one minute silence," said Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. While the United Nations Security Council called the attack "barbaric and cowardly", European Council President Donald Tusk called it "a sad day for France, for Europe". He said it was "tragic" that "the subjects of the attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity." Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered his "condolences" to the victims and said China opposed all forms of terrorism. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemnerd the attack in a series of tweets. "Appalled by the horrific attack in Nice. I strongly condemn such mindless acts of violence. My thoughts are with the families of deceased" he tweeted. " I hope the injured recover soon. India shares the pain & stands firmly with our French sisters & brothers in this hour of immense sadness." (Agencies) ?

Obama, Trudeau condemn terror attack in Nice

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