Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.
More than 600 Russian protesters
have been detained over an unauthorized rally in Moscow, amid reports of police
violence.
Demonstrators had gathered in Moscow
after authorities disqualified a number of opposition candidates from standing
in local elections.
Leading activist Lyubov Sobol was
arrested before she could reach the protest, attended by 1,500 people.
Lyubov Sobol (Image source Wikipedia)
Video from the demonstration shows
officers using their batons against demonstrators while making arrests.
Russian officials initially said
there had been just 30 arrests and 350 attendees.
Monitoring group OVD-Info, which
runs a hotline for reporting detentions, had been keeping a running toll, which
rapidly jumped from a few dozen arrests to several hundred.
Officers in riot gear had earlier
moved into Moscow and warned people not to protest. Russian news agency TASS
reported that one police officer had been injured while making an arrest.
However, protesters also reported
mistreatment at the hands of police.
Footage broadcast on Russian TV and
shared on social media showed police pin people to the ground, kicking or using
batons on them.
Alexander Svidersky, a member of a district electoral commission, said he
was arrested while out with his dog, which he managed to pass off to an
acquaintance before being bundled into a police van. OVD-Info reported he said
he was later taken out and hit around the kidneys before being dragged to
another van.
Detainees at one police station also told OVD-Info they were threatened with
having their fingers “cut off” if they did not allow their
fingerprints to be taken.
Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer and video blogger, is one of the candidates excluded
from the local elections. She has been on hunger strike for 21 days, and called
on others to join the unsanctioned protest on August 3.
She was in a taxi about to set off for the rally when police officers
dragged her into a black van.
Hours after Lyubov Sobol’s arrest, she tweeted from a police station, saying
she had spent three hours being driven “all over Moscow” by a dozen
masked officers.
Authorities said she was being held for violating regulations for street
demonstrations.
Last month, Lyubov Sobol was dragged out of the electoral commission office
on a sofa.
Speaking to independent broadcaster Dozhd
before her detention, Lyubov Sobol said the authorities “are doing
everything they can to try to intimidate the opposition”.
She said: “That is why it is
important to come out today to show that Muscovites are not afraid of
provocation and they are ready to continue to stand up for their rights.”
Shortly afterwards, Russian officials announced an investigation into FBK
for alleged money laundering of a billion roubles ($15.3 millio) – though it
did not name any individuals.
The nation’s investigative committee said that funds had been knowingly
obtained through criminal means.
Authorities detained more than 1,000 demonstrators last weekend during a
demonstration, one of the biggest crackdowns in years.
Election authorities have barred opposition candidates from taking part in
Moscow city authority elections planned for September 8.
According to officials, many of the signatures required for their candidacy
applications were invalid. But protesters say they were excluded for political
reasons.
Another protest held in solidarity in St Petersburg had some 1,000 attendees – but it had not been banned by local officials, and there are no reports of arrests.
President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw his nominee for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) amid criticism that Texas congressman John Ratcliffe was under-qualified.
Critics have accused John Ratcliffe of padding his intelligence credentials.
The president tweeted: “Our
great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by
the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I
explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with
these people….”
He continued: “….John
has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding
job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my
nomination for DNI shortly.”
John Ratcliffe thanked President Trump and said he did not want the job to
become “a purely political and partisan issue”.
He tweeted: “I was
humbled and honored that the President put his trust in me to lead our nation’s
intelligence operations and remain convinced that when confirmed, I would have
done so with the objectivity, fairness and integrity that our intelligence
agencies need and deserve.
“However, I do not
wish for a national security and intelligence debate surrounding my
confirmation, however untrue, to become a purely political and partisan issue.
The country we all love deserves that it be treated as an American issue.”
Image source Wikipedia
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on August 2,
President Trump said John Ratcliffe was “treated very badly, very harshly
by the press” and that he believes Ratcliffe “made the right
decision”.
John Ratcliffe was appointed by President Trump days after his aggressive
questioning of former-Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the ex-FBI director who
led an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
After he was picked, President Trump defended him as the best man to control
US intelligence agencies – a frequent target of criticism by the president.
President Trump said: “We need
somebody strong that can really rein it in, because as I think you’ve all
learned, the intelligence agencies have run amok.
“They run amok.”
The DNI is appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the US
Senate.
The position was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The DNI oversees the 16 civilian and military agencies that make up the US intelligence community.
The Supreme Court has ruled that
President Donald Trump can use $2.5 billion of Pentagon funds for a section of
wall on the southern border.
There were five votes to four to
block a ruling by a federal judge in California that barred President Trump
from spending the money on the Mexican wall.
The wall, dividing the US and
Mexico, was President Trump’s major campaign promise during the 2016 election.
The constructing of the wall is
fiercely opposed by Democrats.
The decision by the Supreme Court
means that the money will be used for wall projects in California, Arizona and
New Mexico.
The court in California had argued
that Congress had not specifically authorized the funds to be used for
constructing the wall.
In a tweet, President Trump
described the ruling as a “big victory”.
He tweeted: “Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns
lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for
Border Security and the Rule of Law!”
President Trump has argued that a new wall would help to curb illegal
immigration, which he says is fuelling crime and placing a strain on the
economy.
Democrats say they are in favor of border security but the wall would be
expensive and ineffective. They argue that President Trump has manufactured the
border emergency and that the wall has become a symbol of Trump’s anti-immigration
platform.
On July 26, the US and Guatemala
signed a deal, under which migrants from Honduras and El Salvador who pass
through Guatemala will be required to stop and seek asylum there first, rather
than heading straight for the US.
The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) has vowed to seek an expedited decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals “to halt the irreversible and imminent damage from Trump’s border
wall”.
President Trump declared an emergency earlier this year, saying he needed
$6.7 billion to build the wall as a matter of national security. However, this
figure is far short of the estimated $23 billion cost of a barrier along the
whole 2,000 miles of border.
Democrats claimed President Trump’s decision to declare an emergency
exceeded his powers under the US constitution.
About 20 states, along with groups including the ACLU have filed lawsuits to
try and stop the president using the emergency declaration to bypass Congress.
The House of Representatives is also
taking legal action to stop the diversion of further funds for the wall
project.
According to US authorities, 104,344
people were arrested along the southwest border in June – a 28% drop from the
previous month.
The Trump administration claims the
decrease is due to new policies with Mexico to curb migration, including
increased security on the Mexican side of the border, and the expansion of a
scheme that makes asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases are being
processed.
However, experts say that reduced
migration is also typical during the hot summer months.
The number of people detained on the
US-Mexico border is far lower when compared with the previous decade.
The number fell in President Trump’s first year but rose again in 2018 – but even before the increase, when migration numbers were at historic lows, Donald Trump described the situation on the border as a national security crisis.
At least two people have died and more than 15
were injured, after an internal balcony collapsed at a nightclub in the South
Korean city of Gwangju on July 27, the local fire service says.
According to the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, several athletes at the
World Swimming Championships were slightly injured.
The athletes are from New Zealand, Italy, the US, Brazil and the Netherlands.
Two South Koreans were taken to hospital in a serious condition and later
died, Yonhap reports.
The deceased were 38 and 27, and were not competitors at the championships.
A balcony and staircase inside the Coyote Ugly nightclub collapsed at 02:29
AM on July 27, while about 370 people were inside.
A massive power cut has plunged Venezuela into
darkness, with the capital Caracas among the areas affected.
It is believed at least 18 of Venezuela’s 23 states have lost power.
Information Minister Jorge Rodrigues claimed the power cut was caused by an
“electromagnetic attack” and officials were working to restore power.
Earlier this year, Venezuela was hit by a series of power cuts, including
one that affected all 23 states and lasted a week, leading to shortages and
riots.
Another outage in April plunged large swathes of the country into darkness;
however, that lasted hours rather than days.
Sporadic blackouts are common in
Venezuela, where the economy has collapsed amid a political crisis.
President Nicolás Maduro and other
state officials have in the past blamed “terrorism” and opposition
sabotage, often alleging US involvement.
The opposition has said the power
cuts are the result of years of corruption and underinvestment.
Venezuela’s state-owned power
company Corpolec earlier reported that a breakdown had only affected parts of
Caracas.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó and President Nicolás Maduro have been at
loggerheads since January, when the former invoked the constitution and
declared himself interim president.
Juan Guaidó argued that the elections which had returned Nicolás Maduro to
power for a second term in 2018 had not been free and fair.
Since then, more than 50 countries, including the US and most nations in Latin
America, have recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
However, Venezuela’s military – a powerful force in the country – and
influential allies such as China and Russia have stuck by Nicolás Maduro.
An attempt by Juan Guaidó to get the military to switch allegiance to
him failed, and Venezuela remains in limbo with both men claiming to be the
legitimate president.
Meanwhile, a severe economic crisis has exacerbated and shortages of food
and medicines have grown even more acute.
According to UN figures, 4 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015.
The government blames the shortages on US sanctions but the opposition says
they are down to years of mismanagement.
Preliminary talks between Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro were held in Oslo
in May, but they petered out without an agreement.
However, they resumed earlier this month, with the Norwegian foreign ministry again acting as a mediator.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was seen shaking for the third time in a
month during a ceremony in Berlin with Finnish PM Antti Rinne.
However, Angela Merkel, 64, insists there is no need to worry.
Video footage shows the chancellor
trembling, shaking back and forth alongside Finland’s prime minister during a
ceremony in Berlin on July 10.
After the incident, she said she was
“very well” and there was “no need to worry”.
A government spokesperson said the
chancellor would continue meetings as planned.
Angela Merkel was last seen shaking
two weeks ago ahead of a trip to Japan for the G20 summit. She told journalists
at the summit she was fine.
On July 10, she gripped her hands as
she tried to control her shaking, standing alongside Antti Rinne.
Angela Merkel was first seen shaking
last month during a welcome ceremony in Berlin for Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a press conference on July 10, Angela Merkel said she was “working
through what happened during the military honors with President Zelensky.”
She added: “This process is
clearly not finished yet but there is progress and I must live with this for a
while but I am very well and you don’t need to worry about me.”
Her spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer, was questioned by German
media as to why the government had not provided any information on the
chancellor’s health. The spokeswoman said she had “nothing to add”.
Angela Merkel’s office has repeatedly dismissed concerns about her health.
Following her second shaking incident, a health specialist, Dr. Christoph
Specht, said that the chancellor could have contracted an infection. He said
shivering indicated an infection that was flaring up again.
German media have reacted with alarm to Angela Merkel’s health scare.
“The health of Angela Merkel is now a political issue,” an
editorial in the Bild newspaper read.
Angela Merkel is now in her fourth term as chancellor, a role she first
began in November 2005. She has said she will leave politics when her current
term ends in 2021.
Angela Merkel has been in good health while in office, and even worked from home after a knee operation in 2011. She also suffered a fall while skiing in 2014. Her absences were only brief on those occasions.
President Donald Trump is preparing to address
an Independence Day military parade event in Washington DC that he promises
will be the “show of a lifetime”.
Thousands of troops are being assembled at a red-, white- and blue-draped
Lincoln Memorial to hear the first such speech by a president since 1951.
Armored carriers and tanks are part of the “Salute to America”
backdrop.
Opponents accuse President Trump of politicizing the holiday ahead of a
re-election campaign and wasting taxpayer’s money.
The Pentagon has not revealed the cost of the parade, which many believe was
inspired by President Trump’s visit to the Bastille Day parade hosted by French
President Emmanuel Macron.
Some reports say the National Park Service is diverting nearly $2.5 million
to cover the cost.
As well as tanks, President Trump’s 4th of July celebration will
also feature a military jet flyover and an extended fireworks show.
As the armored vehicles were transported from a railyard in south-eastern
Washington DC on July 2, military officials advised residents not to be
alarmed.
The two 70-tonne Abrams tanks have to stay on a side road as they are too
heavy for the memorial’s surrounding areas.
In a morning tweet, President Trump said the parade was “turning out to
be one of the biggest celebrations in the history of our Country”.
The president will be keeping a keen eye on the turnout, given the arguments
over the claimed attendance of his inauguration ceremony back in 2017.
The event will be open to the public free of charge, apart from a ticketed area for VIPs in front of the memorial.
Large numbers of Trump supporters wearing Make American Great Again hats –
and opponents upset at the cost – have been descending on the capital.
The musical playlist includes the Star
Wars theme and Hail to the Chief.
Donald Trump’s speech is at 18:30 local time.
The president will be joined by a Pentagon delegation led by the
highest-ranking US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Joseph Dunford.
However, the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps
will not attend.
The Defense Department said in a statement it had received 5,000 tickets
from the White House.
The White House has also distributed VIP tickets to major donors and
political appointees, amid reported concerns that empty seats might be visible.
President Trump said in a tweet that
the expense “will be very little compared to what it is worth”.
Military flyovers alone cost tens of
thousands of dollars per hour.
President Trump’s plans for a military display on Veterans Day in November 2018 were dropped after defense officials said it would cost about $92 million – more than three times the original estimate.
Hundreds of protesters have occupied
Hong Kong’s parliament building for hours after breaking away from a protest on
the anniversary of the state’s transfer of sovereignty to China from Britain.
Police firing tear gas have moved in
to evict protesters from the Legislative Council (LegCo) building.
At midnight, local time, hundreds of
police charged towards the building after warning protesters to clear it.
The incident follows weeks of unrest
in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition law.
Hundreds of thousands took part in
the earlier protest – the latest rally against a proposed law that critics fear
could be used to extradite political dissidents to mainland China.
Dozens of demonstrators smashed
their way through the glass facade of LegCo. They were joined inside by
hundreds more after police vacated the building during the evening.
Inside the building, protesters
defaced the emblem of Hong Kong in the central chamber, raised the old British
colonial flag, spray-painted messages across the walls, and shattered
furniture.
They clad in plastic helmets and
brandishing umbrellas retreated from a baton charge by riot police, who quickly
overcame the makeshift barriers in front of the building.
Inside, diehard demonstrators were
pulled forcibly outside by their fellow occupants in an attempt to completely
clear the building.
Democratic lawmakers Ted Hui and Roy
Kwong stood in front of police asking them to allow protesters time to leave
the area, the South China Morning Post
reported.
Within an hour, the streets around the parliament building were clear of
everyone except the media and police.
President Donald Trump has offered to meet
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North
and South Korea.
North Korea has described President Trump’s offer as a “very
interesting suggestion”.
Donald Trump has arrived in South Korea to discuss the flagging North Korea
denuclearization talks.
If Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un were to see each other at the DMZ, it would
be their third meeting in just over a year, and their first since a summit in
Vietnam broke down in February.
President Trump tweeted: “After
some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China,
I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if
Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just
to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!”
President Trump – who is visiting South Korea after attending the G20 summit
in Japan – conceded that the pair could see each other only “for two
minutes”.
However, despite the apparent lack of any diplomatic preparation, some have
suggested another face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un
could help reset relations and set the scene for future talks.
Only a few hours later, North Korea’s first vice-minister for foreign
affairs, Choe Son Hui, said in statement: “We
see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official
proposal in this regard.”
Such a meeting, the statement added, “would serve as another meaningful
occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders
and advancing the bilateral relations”.
It remains unclear whether officials with President Trump were briefed in
advance about his overture to Kim Jong-un, and South Korea’s presidency said
nothing was yet confirmed.
Last week, a South Korean official said Donald Trump was considering a trip
to the DMZ, prompting speculation a meeting with Kim Jong-un could be possible.
President Trump attempted to make a surprise visit to the area in November
2017, but was forced to abandon the plans due to bad weather.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling
AK Party has lost control of Istanbul after a re-run of the city’s mayoral
election.
With nearly all ballots counted, main opposition party candidate Ekrem
Imamoglu, 49, had a lead of 775,000 votes, a huge increase on the margin of
13,000 he achieved in the earlier election.
The March victory was annulled after the AKP alleged irregularities.
The result ends 25 years of AKP rule in Istanbul.
The AKP’s candidate, former PM Binali Yildirim, conceded to his opponent.
President Erdogan tweeted: “I
congratulate Ekrem Imamoglu who has won the election based on preliminary
results.”
The president had previously said that “whoever wins Istanbul, wins
Turkey”. He has ruled the country since 2003 both as prime minister and
now president, becoming the most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,
the founder of the modern Turkish republic.
In his victory speech, Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party
(CHP), said the result marked a “new beginning” for both Istanbul and
Turkey. He said his supporters had “fixed democracy”.
“We are opening up a new page in
Istanbul,” he added.
“On this new page, there will be
justice, equality, love.”
Ekrem Imamoglu added that he was willing to work with President Erdogan,
saying: “Mr. President, I am ready
to work in harmony with you.”
With 99% of votes counted, Ekrem Imamoglu had 54% of the vote and Binali
Yildirim 45%.
Ekrem Imamoglu is the mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikduzu
district but his name was barely known before he ran in the March election.
Binali Yildirim was a founding
member of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP and was prime minister from 2016 until
2018, when Turkey became a presidential democracy and the role ceased to exist.
He was elected Speaker of the new
parliament in February and before that served as minister of transportation and
communication.
Ekrem Imamoglu’s victory of 13,000
votes in March was not enough for Binali Yildirim to accept defeat.
The AK Party alleged that votes were
stolen and many ballot box observers did not have official approval, leading
the election board to demand a re-run of the vote.
Critics argue that pressure from
President Erdogan was behind the decision.
Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city,
with a population of 15 million, not far short of a fifth of the country’s 80
million, and is also the nation’s business hub.
Local currency, the lira, down 10%
this year, rose on news of the result.
Istanbul is also close to President
Erdogan’s heart – his political career rose there as his AKP took power in the
city a quarter of a century ago and he himself served as mayor from 1994 to
1998.
The city accounts for just short of
a third of Turkey’s GDP. It has a $4 billion municipal budget which spawns
lucrative contacts. The AKP has now lost control of it.
Part of Ekrem Imamoglu’s campaign
was to allege the squandering of public money by the AKP.
Although less conservative as a
whole than the AKP’s rural heartland, Istanbul still has conservative districts
such as Fatih, but Ekrem Imamoglu also won there and in President Erdogan’s own
childhood district of Beyoglu.
Turkey’s capital, Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir are all now in opposition hands.
President Donald Trump threatened a Time magazine photographer with prison
for apparently taking a picture of a letter from North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un.
The president rebuked the photographer
in the Oval Office after he was warned by an aide not to take a photo,
according to Time‘s transcript.
The interview continued, but grew
heated after the special counsel’s investigation of President Trump came up.
“You can go to prison instead,” Donald Trump is quoted as saying.
The interview took place at the
White House on June 17, two days before President Trump traveled to Florida to
formally launch his 2020 re-election campaign.
At several points during the
interview, President Trump asked to speak off-the-record, including in the
moments after showing the Time reporters a letter he said was from Kim Jong-un.
“Here’s a letter, OK, now I’m going to show you this
letter,” said the president.
“So this was written by Kim Jong-un. It was delivered
to me yesterday. By hand.”
As the conversation turned to his
potential Democratic challengers in next year’s election, White House press
secretary Sarah Sanders told the journalists: “You can’t take a picture of that, sorry.”
“What was that?!” President Trump exclaims.
The interview continues as the
reporters ask about who President Trump sees as his toughest political opponent
for 2020.
“Uh, I don’t know. Look, I think I’ve done so much.
Could you bring the list of things, please, give me four of them,” President Trump tells an aide, who quickly presents one,
saying it was made “for today”.
According to the transcript, Donald
Trump becomes more prickly when Time
challenges an assertion by him.
The reporter reminds the president that some of his aides had
“testified under oath, under threat of prison time” that the
president had tried to influence the investigation by special counsel Robert
Mueller.
President Trump snaps back: “Excuse
me… Well, you can go to prison instead, because if you use, if you use the
photograph you took of the letter that I gave you confidentially.
“I didn’t give it to you to take
photographs of it – So don’t play that game with me.”
The journalist from Time responds:
“I’m sorry, Mr. President. Were you
threatening me with prison time?”
Donald Trump replies: “Well, I
told you the following. I told you, you can look at this off the record. That
doesn’t mean you take out your camera and start taking pictures of it. OK?
“So I hope you don’t have a
picture of it.
“I know you were very quick to
pull it out – even you were surprised to see that.
“You can’t do that stuff. So go
have fun with your story. Because I’m sure it will be the 28th horrible story I
have in Time magazine.”
Donald Trump has long had an interest in Time
magazine, and has previously had fake issues printed with himself on the cover
and framed at his golf resorts.
He was named person of the year in 2016.
In 2017, he claimed to have turned down an offer to be the magazine’s person
of the year again, which Time‘s
editorial staff said was untrue.
However, in 2018, Time‘s annual person of the year award was dedicated to persecuted journalists.
During his roughly 80-minute speech,
President Trump reiterated key themes of his winning 2016 campaign.
The president pledged to continue a
crackdown against illegal immigration, one day after tweeting that US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would soon begin removing
“millions of illegal aliens” from the country.
He told Florida supporters: “We believe our country should be a
sanctuary for law-abiding citizens, not for criminal aliens.”
Donald Trump also accused Democrats
of seeking to legalize illegal immigration in order to boost their voting base,
and said they “want to destroy our country as we know it”.
President Trump described his opponents as a “radical left-wing
mob” who he said would bring socialism to the US.
He told the crowd: “A vote for
any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical socialism and the destruction
of the American dream.”
President Trump also praised the economy, criticized the Mueller
investigation into alleged collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and
Russia, and referred to media covering the event as “fake news back
there”.
Donald Trump also elicited “lock her up” chants from supporters when he brought up Hillary Clinton, despite her not being in the 2020 race.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has
fired two high-ranking Moscow police officials, days after anti-corruption
journalist Ivan Golunov was freed amid an outcry over a fabricated drugs case.
Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev had called for the dismissal of western Moscow police chief
Maj. Gen. Andrei Puchkov and drug control chief Maj. Gen. Yury Devyatkin.
Ivan Golunov, 36, was released after
lawyers said drugs had been planted on him.
It also emerged that police photos
of a drugs lab were not taken in his flat.
The journalist, who had been working
for the Latvia-based independent news website Meduza, alleged he had been beaten while in custody.
Ivan Golunov was later released
under house arrest before being freed on June 11, a day after three respected
newspapers published the same front-page headline: “I/We are Golunov.”
Hundreds of people were arrested
during a pro-Golunov rally in central Moscow on June 12, many of them bearing
the same slogan as the newspapers.
The interior minister announced the suspension of officers involved in the
case on June 11, saying that the reporter’s guilt “had not been
proven”.
President Vladimir Putin has avoided commenting on the case, although his
spokesman said earlier in the week that the Kremlin had been keeping a close
eye on it.
He will appear before the Russian public in the annual “Direct
Line” phone-in on June 20, when Russians are given the chance to speak to
the president.
Russian commentators have suggested the Kremlin is keen for the story to
disappear before the event.
Ivan Golunov was stopped last week while on his way to meet another
journalist in Moscow. Police officers said they found the drug mephedrone in
his bag, and more drugs and weighing scales in a search of his home.
The journalist’s lawyers and press freedom activists said the drugs had been
planted in order to silence the investigative journalist.
Ivan Golunov’s supporters immediately claimed that he was innocent and a victim of false drugs charges used against opposition figures and human rights activists by the Russian state.
President Trump has hailed a deal
reached with Mexico to help stem the flow of migrants to the US after he
threatened to impose trade tariffs.
Under the deal, in which Mexico
agreed to take “unprecedented steps”, the duties that were due to
come into effect on June 10 have been suspended.
Donald Trump said: “Mexico will try very hard, and if they
do that, this will be a very successful agreement.”
There were fears that the tariffs
could hurt US businesses and consumers.
Under President Trump’s proposal,
duties would have risen by 5% every month on goods including cars, beer,
tequila, fruit and vegetables until they hit 25% in October.
The deal was reached at the end of
three days of negotiations which saw Washington demand a crackdown on Central
American migrants.
In a joint declaration released by
the US state department, the two countries said Mexico would take
“unprecedented steps” to curb irregular migration and human
trafficking.
However, it seems the US did not get
one of its reported key demands, which would have required Mexico to take in
asylum seekers heading for the US and process their claims on its own soil.
Under the deal, Mexico agreed to deploy
its National Guard throughout the country from June 10, pledging up to 6,000
additional troops along Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. It will also take
“decisive action” to tackle human smuggling networks.
The US agreed to expand its program
of sending asylum seekers back to Mexico while they await reviews of their
claims. In return, the US will “work to accelerate” the adjudication
process.
Both countries pledged to
“strengthen bilateral co-operation” over border security, including
“co-ordinated actions” and information sharing.
The declaration added that discussions would continue, and final terms would
be accepted and announced within 90 days.
Should Mexico’s actions “not have the expected results”, the
agreement warned that additional measures could be taken but did not specify
what these would be.
In one of a series of tweets about the deal, President Trump quoted National
Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd as saying: “That’s going to be a huge deal because Mexico will be using their
strong Immigration Laws – A game changer. People no longer will be released
into the U.S.”
Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard told journalists: “I think it was a fair balance, because
they have more drastic measures and proposals at the start, and we have reached
some middle point.”
Speaking at a separate news conference, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
said “we couldn’t be more pleased with the agreement”.
President Trump caught members of his own party unaware when he announced the proposed tariffs last week.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in London for a
three-day visit in the UK.
Protests are planned in several UK cities during the president’s visit,
including in London, Manchester, Belfast, and Birmingham.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – who is boycotting the state dinner – is due to
attend and speak at the London demonstration, a party spokesman has confirmed.
Earlier, he tweeted: “Tomorrow’s
protest against Donald Trump’s state visit is an opportunity to stand in
solidarity with those he’s attacked in America, around the world and in our own
country – including, just this morning, Sadiq Khan.”
Talks between President Trump and outgoing PM Theresa May will begin on June
4, with the pair expected to discuss climate change and Chinese technology firm
Huawei.
Donald Trump’s visit coincides with the commemorations for the 75th
anniversary of the D-Day landings, which the Queen, the US president and other
heads of state will attend at Portsmouth on June 5.
Crowds were gathered outside Buckingham Palace as President Trump and first
lady landed by helicopter shortly after midday.
The Queen presented Donald Trump with a first edition of Sir Winston
Churchill’s book The Second World War,
from 1959, with gilt decorations and hand-sewn bindings in the colors of the US
flag. He was also given a three-piece Duofold pen set decorated with an EIIR
emblem, in a design made exclusively for the monarch.
Melania Trump received a specially commissioned silver box with a
handcrafted enamel lid, decorated in royal blue with roses, thistles and
shamrocks to represent the ceiling of Buckingham Palace’s music room.
After the private lunch, the Queen showed the presidential couple American
artefacts and other items from the Royal Collection. In a nod to Donald Trump’s
Scottish heritage, he was shown a bolt of Harris tweed.
President Trump and the first lady met the Duke of York at Westminster
Abbey, where they laid a wreath at the grave of the unknown warrior. The
president signed the distinguished visitor’s book in his customary black marker
pen, describing the 13th Century church as a “special place”.
Their next stop was Clarence House, where they joined Prince Charles and the
Duchess of Cornwall for tea.
In the evening, the president and the first lady have joined a state banquet
at the Buckingham Palace.
He has praised the “treasured friendship” between the UK and US as
he joined the banquet.
The state banquet at Buckingham
Palace was also attended by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The guests also included prominent Americans
living in Britain – Jeremy Corbyn, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, and
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable all boycotted the state banquet.
The Queen said the countries were celebrating an alliance which had ensured the “safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades”.
New calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment
came from House Democrats, after former White House counsel Donald McGahn failed
to appear before Congress despite a subpoena.
Donald McGahn skipped a hearing on May 21 about the Mueller report.
In an extraordinary move, President Trump has vowed to block all subpoenas
of his current and former staff.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said after the failed
hearing: “Our subpoenas are not
optional.”
“Let me be clear: this committee
will hear Mr. McGahn’s testimony, even if we have to go to court to secure
it,” he said.
The Trump administration claims that the report by Special Counsel Robert
Mueller, into allegations of Russian collusion and obstruction of justice,
cleared him of wrongdoing, and that there are no further questions to answer.
It also claims that staff cannot legally be compelled to testify, but Jerry
Nadler said he would hold Donald McGahn in contempt and pursue other means of
compelling testimony.
“We will hold this president
accountable, one way or the other,” he said.
On May 2, President Trump responded on Twitter, arguing that he had
“allowed everyone to testify” to Robert Mueller’s team, and accusing
the Democrats of seeking a “do-over” of the special counsel
investigation.
Democratic Party leaders have so far
held off pressure from their lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings, and
the party is divided over the merits of the move, but the pressure is growing
as the president stonewalls congressional inquiries.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduled
a party meeting on May 22 to discuss the issue.
Both the Department of Justice and
White House released statements on May 20 arguing that Donald McGahn was under
no obligation to give evidence.
According to a letter sent to House
Judiciary Committee, Donald McGahn was “absolutely immune from compelled
Congressional testimony”. Donald McGahn, who served as White House counsel
for nearly two years under President Trump before his resignation in October
2018, said he would respect the president’s instruction not to appear.
White House press secretary Sarah
Sanders accused Democrats of pushing for “a wasteful and unnecessary
do-over” of the Mueller report.
Citing the justice department
guidance, Sanders said: “The former
counsel to the president cannot be forced to give such testimony, and Mr.
McGahn has been directed to act accordingly.”
In the wake of Donald McGahn’s
failure to appear, Jerry Nadler announced he had issued subpoenas to former
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson, McGahn’s
former chief of staff.
According to a New York Times report, Democratic lawmakers and aides were examining possible rules changes to allow the House to fine people held in contempt, as well as other means to break the impasse.
An Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet-100 made an
emergency landing and burst into flames just after takeoff from Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo airport killing at least 41 people.
Two children are among the dead. The jet had 73 passengers and five crew
members.
“There are 37 survivors – 33
passengers and four members of the crew,” said Yelena Markovskaya, an
official involved in the investigation of the crash.
A flight attendant was also reportedly killed in the incident. Five people
are in hospital. One witness said it was a “miracle” anyone escaped.
Dramatic video shows passengers using emergency exit slides to escape the
burning Russian aircraft.
Survivors suggest the plane was struck by lightning, but Russia’s national
carrier said only that it returned to the airport for technical reasons.
Initial reports suggested the plane had landed on fire, but sources quoted
by Russian news agency Interfax said the jet caught fire after a very bumpy
landing.
The plane landed with full fuel tanks because the crew lost contact with air
traffic controllers and decided it was too dangerous to dump fuel over Moscow,
Interfax added.
PM Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a special committee to investigate the
disaster.
The aircraft left the airport at 18:02 local time, bound for Murmansk.
Its crew sent a distress signal when “malfunctions” occurred in
bad weather shortly after take-off.
After making an emergency landing at the airport, the aircraft’s engines
caught fire on the runway, Aeroflot said, adding that the crew “did
everything to save the passengers”.
Murmansk’s Acting Governor Andrey Chibis has reportedly said that the
families of those killed in the fire will each receive one million rubles ($15,300),
while the victims being treated in hospital will be given 500,000 rubles
($7,650).
With millions of commercial flights taking place every year, lightning
strikes in the air are relatively common.
Traditional planes, built using aluminum, are usually able to withstand such strikes as the shell or “skin” of the aircraft acts as a cage, distributing the electricity without causing damage and allowing them to continue their journey safely. Some newer aircraft are constructed using lighter materials that have lower electrical conductivity, such as carbon fiber, which need to be protected – often using wire mesh or foil.
More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in Bangladesh
as Cyclone Fani hit the Asian country.
At least five people died and 63 were injured.
With more than a million people evacuated to safety, the director of the
Bangladesh Meteorological Department said “fear of a major disaster is
mostly over”.
Cyclone Fani was downgraded to a depression as it swept north-eastwards from
India into Bangladesh on May 4, but was still powerful enough to submerge
dozens of villages on the low lying coast.
Houses were also destroyed in the Noakhali district, where 30 people were
injured and two children killed, one aged 12 and another two years old.
India also moved more than a million people to safety to avoid Cyclone Fani.
A least 16 people were killed by the storm when it hit India on May 3, but
officials said the loss of life could have been far worse.
In 1999, a super-cyclone in the Bay of Bengal ravaged the coast of Orissa
for 30 hours and killed 10,000 people.
Early cyclone warning systems have since improved, giving authorities more time to evacuate people. The chief minister of Orissa said this was one of the largest evacuations in human history.
Members of the Venezuelan government
say they are putting down a small coup attempt after opposition leader Juan
Guaido announced he was in the “final phase” of ending President
Nicolas Maduro’s rule.
He appeared in a video with
uniformed men, saying he had military support.
Juan Guaido, who declared himself
interim president in January, called for more members of the military to help
him end Nicolas Maduro’s “usurpation” of power.
However, military leaders appeared
to be standing behind Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s defense minister
appeared on TV to stress the point. However, pictures from Caracas show some
soldiers aligning themselves with Juan Guaido’s supporters.
Nicolas Maduro’s detractors hope the
military will change its allegiance as resentment grows following years of
hyperinflation, power cuts, food and medicine shortages.
So far, the armed forces have stood
by President Maduro – despite dozens of countries, including the UK, the US and
most of Latin America, recognizing Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.
As a result, John Bolton, the US
national security adviser, said what was taking place in Venezuela was not a
coup, but a legitimate leader trying to take control.
Protesters supporting both sides
have gathered at different points in the capital, Caracas.
There are running clashes between
Juan Guaido’s supporters and armed military vehicles. Protesters were also seen
throwing rocks, but being repelled by tear gas and water cannon.
TV cameras also caught the moment
armored vehicles drove into a crowd but it is unclear if there were any
injuries.
According to El Universal newspaper, at least 37 people had been injured across
Caracas.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said the uprising by
some members of the military had been “partly defeated”, but warned
of possible bloodshed.
He warned: “The weapons of the
republic are here to defend the nation’s sovereignty and independence.”
Vladimir Padrino also revealed one soldier had suffered a bullet wound.
A three-minute video by Juan Guaido was published on April 30. In the video,
he announced he had the support of “brave soldiers” in Caracas.
“The National Armed Forces have
taken the correct decision… they are guaranteed to be on the right side of
history,” he said.
Juan Guaido was filmed alongside
another opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, who has been under house arrest
since being found guilty of inciting violence during anti-government protests
in 2014.
Leopoldo Lopez, who leads the
Popular Will party of which Juan Guaido is a member, said he had been freed by
members of the military.
He went on to urge Venezuelans to
join them on the streets.
Meanwhile, Chile’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs revealed he, his wife Lilian Tintori and their daughter had
entered Chile’s embassy in Caracas to seek protection.
Juan Guaido, the president of the
opposition-controlled National Assembly, has been calling on the military to
back him ever since he declared himself interim president.
He argues that President Nicolas Maduro is a “usurper” because he
was re-elected in polls that had been widely disputed.
The video appeared to have been recorded at dawn in or near La Carlota air force base in Caracas.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito has abdicated at the
age of 85 in a historic ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
In his last public address as emperor, the emperor handed over the symbols
of power and thanked the public for their support during his 30-year reign.
He was given permission to abdicate after saying he felt unable to fulfill
his role because of his age and declining health.
Akihito is the first Japanese monarch to stand down in more than 200 years.
He technically remained emperor until midnight, local time.
Crown Prince Naruhito, the emperor’s eldest son, formally ascends the throne
on May 1. A new era – called Reiwa, meaning order and harmony – will begin in
Japan’s unique calendar.
While the Japanese emperor holds no
political power, he serves as a national figurehead.
Akihito has endeared himself to many
people during his reign as he has interacted with those suffering from disease
and disaster.
In the morning, Akihito took part in
a Shinto ceremony to report his plans to the mythological ancestors of Japan’s
imperial family.
The main “Ceremony of the Abdication” took place in a state room
of the Imperial Palace in front of about 300 people including PM Shinzo Abe,
Crown Prince Naruhito, and Crown Princess Masako.
Imperial chamberlains carried the state and privy seals into the hall, along
with a sacred sword and a jewel which are considered symbols of the imperial
family.
In a short ceremony, PM Shinzo Abe addressed the emperor, saying: “While keeping in our hearts the path
that the emperor has walked, we will make utmost efforts to create a bright
future for a proud Japan that is full of peace and hope.”
In his final speech as emperor, Akihito said: “I am deeply grateful for the people that accepted me as a symbol
and supported me.”
“I sincerely wish, together with the empress, that the
Reiwa era which begins tomorrow will be a stable and fruitful one,” he added.
“I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for
all the people in Japan and around the world.”
Emperor Akihito had surgery for
prostate cancer in 2003 and a heart bypass operation in 2012.
In a rare speech in 2016, he said
that he feared his age would make it hard for him to carry out his duties and
strongly hinted that he wanted to stand down.
Opinion polls showed that the vast
majority of Japan sympathized with him, and a year later parliament enacted a
law that made his abdication possible.
Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, will
become Japan’s 126th emperor – and will officially lead the country into the
new Reiwa era. It will mark the end of the current Heisei era, which began when
Akihito ascended the throne in 1989.
Naruhito, an Oxford University graduate, is married to Crown Princess
Masako. Their only child, Princess Aiko, was born in 2001.
Japan’s current law prohibits women from inheriting the throne, so Princess
Aiko’s uncle Prince Fumihito is now first in line, followed by her cousin,
12-year-old Prince Hisahito.
Japan’s monarchy is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world.
Legends date it back to about 600 BC.
The emperors used to be seen as gods, but Hirohito – the father of Akihito –
publicly renounced his divinity as part of Japan’s surrender at the end of
World War Two.
It was Emperor Akihito who helped repair Japan’s post-war reputation.
Previous emperors rarely interacted with the public, but Akihito redefined
the role – and has come to be known for his compassion.
He also took up the role of a diplomat, becoming an unofficial ambassador
for Japan and travelling abroad extensively.
While Akihito’s abdication was the first in 200 years, it wasn’t so rare
historically.
According to Japan’s state broadcaster NHK, about half the emperors or empresses have done the same, and it happened frequently from the 8th Century to the 19th Century.
President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum
saying that asylum seekers should pay a fee to have their applications
processed in the latest move in his crackdown on migration.
The presidential memorandum, issued on April 29, called for a slew of new
rules.
The president also wants to disqualify asylum seekers who enter the US
illegally from obtaining temporary work permits.
Critics say that fees would put the process out of reach for many people.
In his memo, President Trump said the fee would not exceed the cost of
processing the applications, but estimates have not yet been provided of what
this may be.
The vast majority of countries do not charge asylum application fees.
Victoria Neilson, a former official at US Citizenship and Immigration
Services, the government agency that accepts asylum applications, told Reuters:
“The majority of people coming to
the United States seeking asylum are coming with little more than the shirts on
their back.”
Under the current system, asylum seekers who enter the US both legally and
illegally are allowed to work while their claims are processed.
President Trump said regulations should be drawn up to ensure that asylum
claims are adjudicated in immigration court within 180 days, except under
exceptional circumstances.
While asylum cases are already meant to be finished within this timeframe, a
backlog of more than 800,000 cases means that asylum claims can take years to
be completed.
The orders given by President Trump to the Justice Department and Department
of Homeland Security mark a dramatic shift in US policy.
The president has given officials 90 days to come up with the new
regulations.
The orders come amid Donald Trump’s efforts to stem the surge of Central American migrants trying to cross into the US.
Kim Jong-un has arrived in Vladivostok, Russia,
for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
The North Korean leader arrived by train in the Pacific Coast for his first
talks with the Russian president, which are expected to start on April 25.
Kim Jong-un was welcomed by officials with a traditional offering of bread
and salt.
Russia says they will discuss the Korean peninsula’s “nuclear
problem” but Kim Jong-un is also said to be seeking support after talks
with the US failed.
President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi earlier this year to
discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program but the summit – their second –
ended without agreement.
The North Korean leader greeted Russian officials warmly on his arrival in
Vladivostok.
After tasting traditional korovai bread and salt, Kim Jong-un was
entertained by a brass band before he got inside a car flanked by bodyguards
who – in now familiar scenes – jogged alongside the vehicle as it departed.
He told Russian TV earlier, after
crossing the border at Khasan: “I
arrived in Russia bearing the warm feelings of our people, and as I already
said, I hope this visit will be successful and useful.
“I hope that during the talks with respected President
Putin, I will be able to discuss in a concrete manner issues relating to the
settlement of the situation on the Korean peninsula, and to the development of
our bilateral relations.”
The summit is due to take place on
April 25 at about 13:00 local time on Russky island, just off Vladivostok,
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia’s
Interfax news agency.
Russian and North Korean national
flags are already in place on the island, where the leaders are expected to
meet on a university campus.
Vladimir Putin was expected to
arrive for the summit later.
According to his spokesman, the
Kremlin believes the six-party talks on North Korea, which are currently
stalled, are the only efficient way of addressing the issue of nuclear weapons
on the Korean peninsula.
Those talks, which began in 2003,
involve the two Koreas as well as China, Japan, Russia and the US.
North Korea has blamed Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo for the collapse of the Hanoi summit in February.
Earlier this month, North Korea
demanded that Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear talks, accusing him of
“talking nonsense” and asking for someone “more careful” to
replace him.
The summit is also an opportunity
for Pyongyang to show that its economic future does not depend solely on the US.
Kim Jong-un may also try to put
pressure on Moscow to ease sanctions.
Analysts believe this summit is a
chance for Russia to show that it is an important player on the Korean
peninsula.
President Vladimir Putin has been
eager to meet Kim Jong-un for quite some time. Yet amid the two Trump-Kim
summits, the Kremlin has been somewhat sidelined.
Russia, like the US and China, is uncomfortable with North Korea being a nuclear state.
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has scored a landslide
victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.
With nearly all ballots counted in the run-off vote, Volodymyr Zelensky, 41,
had taken more than 73% with incumbent Petro Poroshenko trailing far behind on
24%.
He told celebrating supporters: “I
will never let you down.”
Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev commented in a Facebook post that Russia wants
Volodymyr Zelensky to show “sound judgement”, “honesty” and
“pragmatism” so that relations can improve. Russia backs separatists
in eastern Ukraine.
He said he expected Volodymyr Zelensky to “repeat familiar ideological
formulas” that he used in the election campaign, adding: “I have no illusions on that score.
“At the same time, there is a
chance to improve relations with our country.”
Petro Poroshenko, who admitted defeat after the first exit polls were
published, has said he will not be leaving politics.
He told voters that Volodymyr Zelensky was too inexperienced to stand up to
Russia effectively.
Volodymyr Zelensky, a political novice, is best known for starring in a satirical
TV series Servant of the People, in
which his character accidentally becomes Ukrainian president.
The comedian told reporters he would “reboot” peace talks with the
separatists fighting Ukrainian forces and volunteers in the east.
He said: “I think that we will
have personnel changes. In any case we will continue in the direction of the
Minsk [peace] talks and head towards concluding a ceasefire.”
There are sporadic skirmishes and the situation also remains tense around Crimea, annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.
A subpoena demanding the release of Robert
Mueller’s full report into Russian meddling during the 2016 election has been
issued, amid claims the current version “leaves most of Congress in the
dark”.
The chairman of the House judiciary committee, Democrat Jerry Nadler, argued
it is entitled to an unredacted version.
Donald Trump’s legal team argues it completely exonerates the president.
The DoJ has reacted by calling the subpoena “premature and
unnecessary”.
It said it would “continue to work with Congress to accommodate its
legitimate requests consistent with the law and long-recognized executive
branch interests”.
Elizabeth Warren became the first Democratic presidential candidate to call
for President Trump to be impeached.
She said: “The severity of this
misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political
considerations and do their constitutional duty.”
The 448-page redacted document is
the result of a 22-month investigation by Robert Mueller, who was appointed to
investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible
collusion with the Trump campaign.
It includes large swathes of
redactions, which Jerry Nadler says “appear to be significant” in
revealing how Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team came to their
conclusions
Democrats have promised to continue
pursuing President Trump following the release of the report on April 18.
Robert Mueller’s report says he
found no criminal conspiracy between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, but
could not reach a concrete legal conclusion on whether Donald Trump tried to
obstruct the investigation.
The report says: “If we had confidence after a thorough
investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit
obstruction of justice, we would so state.
“Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards,
we are unable to reach that judgment.
“Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that
the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
The report also reveals that Donald
Trump instructed a White House lawyer to try to get Robert Mueller removed over
alleged “conflicts of interest”, but the lawyer resigned because
“he did not plan” to follow the directive.
Robert Mueller examined 10 actions
by the president in regards to obstruction of justice, which he said largely
“took place in public view”
The report says that potential
obstruction of justice by the president only failed because members of his
administration refused to “carry out orders”
However, about 10% of Robert Mueller’s
report is redacted – which means it may include yet more revelations.
Jerry Nadler issued the subpoena for the full, unredacted version on April
19, giving the US attorney general until May 1 to respond.
He said: “My committee needs and
is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence
consistent with past practice.
“The redactions appear to be significant.
We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel
developed to make this case.”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has canceled his planned
speech to the nation in light of the fire, which has engulfed the giant spire
of the cathedral, an Élysée Palace official said.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo described it as a “terrible
fire” and urged people at the scene to respect the boundaries set up by
fire crews in order to ensure that they remain safe.
President Donald Trump suggested “perhaps flying water
tankers” could be used to extinguish the fire.
The Notre-Dame cathedral, which is visited by millions of people every year, is undergoing renovations after cracks began to appear in the stone, sparking fears the structure could become unstable.
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