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Diane A. Wade

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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.

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More than seven million Venezuelan voters have taken part in an opposition-organized referendum in the country, according to academics monitoring the poll.

The referendum result strongly backed opposition to the socialist government’s proposed constitutional changes.

Venezuela remains polarized between supporters of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition, which wants fresh elections.

A 61-year-old woman was shot dead while queuing to vote in the capital, Caracas.

Venezuela: Leopoldo Lopez Released from Jail After Three Years

Men on motorbikes opened fire, killing Xiomara Soledad Scott, and wounding three others.

Image source teleSUR

The opposition blamed a “paramilitary” gang for the shooting, which prosecutors said they would investigate.

Separately, journalist Luis Olavarrieta was kidnapped, robbed and beaten by a group, but managed to escape.

More than 100 people have died in clashes and protests in Venezuela since April.

Venezuela Opposition Sets Up Roadblocks and Demands Early Elections

Cecilia García Arocha, the rector of the Central University of Venezuela, said 6,492,381 people voted within the country and another 693,789 at polling stations abroad. However, the vote has no legal status.

The turnout is slightly less than the 7.7 million people who voted for opposition candidates at the 2015 parliamentary elections. There are 19.5 million registered voters in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court Attacked by Helicopter

Voting Yes or No to three questions, 98% rejected the new assembly proposed by President Nicolas Maduro and backed a call for elections before his term of office ends in 2019.

They also voted for the armed forces to defend the current constitution.

An official vote will be held on July 30 for a new assembly, which would have the power to rewrite the constitution and to dissolve state institutions. However, critics say the new assembly could herald dictatorship.

The July 16 unofficial poll was held in improvised polling stations at theaters, sports grounds and roundabouts within Venezuela and in more than 100 countries around the world.

However, President Maduro described the vote as “meaningless”.

“They have convened an internal consultation with the opposition parties, with their own mechanisms, without electoral rulebooks, without prior verification, without further verification. As if they are autonomous and decide on their own,” he said.

Nicolas Maduro argues that the constituent assembly is the only way to help Venezuela out of its economic and political crisis.

Opposition leaders fear that the process of setting up a new constituent assembly and rewriting the constitution would almost certainly delay this year’s regional elections and the 2018 presidential election.

They also fear that the constituent assembly would further weaken the National Assembly, Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislative body.

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Cuban President Raul Castro has spoken publicly for the first time against President Donald Trump’s rollback of a thaw between the two countries a month ago.

Raul Castro said “attempts to destroy the revolution” would fail.

President Trump has tightened restrictions on US travel to and business with Cuba.

However, the US embassy in Havana, re-opened by former President Barack Obama, is still operating.

Fidel Castro Death: Donald Trump Calls Cuban Leader “Brutal Dictator”

President Castro was speaking in front of Cuba’s national assembly. It was his first public comment on the policy changes President Trump announced a month ago.

State-run Cuban media quoted President Castro as saying that President Trump was using “old and hostile rhetoric” and had returned to “confrontation that roundly failed over 55 years”.

The Cuban president said: “We reject the manipulation of the topic of human rights against Cuba, which can be proud of much in this area and does not need to receive lessons from the United States nor anyone.”

Barack Obama and Raul Castro Hold Historic Joint News Conference

Donald Trump anchored his policy rollback in human rights concerns raised by political opponents of Cuba’s communist government, many of whom have fled to Miami where the president announced the changes on June 16.

President Castro continued: “Cuba and the United States can cooperate and live side by side, respecting their differences. But no one should expect that for this, one should have to make concessions inherent to one’s sovereignty and independence.”

Raul Castro will step down as president in seven months, but will remain the head of the country’s Communist Party.

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Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet intel officer turned lobbyist, attended a meeting last year with senior aides to President Donald Trump and his son, it has emerged.

Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed to media he was present at the Trump Tower encounter.

Donald Trump Jr. was promised damaging material on Hillary Clinton at the meeting, his emails show.

Donald Trump’s eldest son has only previously acknowledged that a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was present.

Donald Trump Jr. has played down the June 9, 2016, meeting since it was reported this week.

However, the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Donald Trump Jr. to publicly testify.

Donald Trump Jr.’s Email Chain on Russia Meeting in Full

Several congressional panels and federal investigators are looking into claims that Russia meddled in last year’s election in a bid to help Donald Trump.

The New York meeting was also attended by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and election chairman, Paul Manafort.

It has emerged as the firmest evidence yet of non-diplomatic interactions between Trump campaign aides and Russian figures.

During a news conference in Paris, France, on Thursday, President Trump said that “most people would have taken that meeting”.

Image source Flickr

“Zero happened,” he said.

Rinat Akhmetshin told the AP news agency he served in a Soviet military unit that was part of counterintelligence, but that he was never formally trained as a spy.

In court papers filed with the US District Court in Washington DC, where he lives, a mining company accused him of organizing a hack on its private records as part of an alleged smear campaign.

Donald Trump Jr. Admits Meeting Russian Lawyer During Campaign

International Mineral Resources hired a private investigator to follow Rinat Akhmetshin to London.

The Russian-American was overheard in a coffee shop bragging about arranging the cyber-attack on the firm’s computer system, according to court documents.

Rinat Akhmetshin denied the allegations, and the case was later dropped.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the Russian government knows nothing about Rinat Akhmetshin, the AP reported.

Rinat Akhmetshin told the Washington Post he became a US citizen in 2009 but retains his Russian nationality.

He is a registered lobbyist who has focused in recent years on overturning the 2012 US Magnitsky Act.

The law, which froze the assets of senior Russian officials, angered President Vladimir Putin.

Rinat Akhmetshin told the Washington Post he only accompanied Natalia Veselnitskaya to the Trump Tower meeting on the spur of the moment after meeting her for lunch.

He said he showed up with her at the Manhattan skyscraper wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

Rinat Akhmetshin said he and Natalia Veselnitskaya were joined by an interpreter.

“I never thought this would be such a big deal, to be honest,” he said.

The meeting was set up by Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist for Russian pop star Emin Agalarov.

Emin Agalarov worked with Donald Trump on staging the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013.

Emails show that Rob Goldstone promised Donald Trump Jr. that Natalia Veselnitskaya, whom he described as a “Russian government attorney”, would share damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump Jr. said it became apparent as they spoke that Natalia Veselnitskaya wanted to discuss a suspended program for Americans to adopt Russian children.

However, Rinat Akhmetshin told the AP that Natalia Veselnitskaya informed Donald Trump Jr. she had details of possible illicit funds being funneled to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

“This could be a good issue to expose how the DNC is accepting bad money,” he said he recalled her saying.

According to Rinat Akhmetshin, Donald Trump Jr. asked her if she had evidence to prove the claim, but the lawyer urged the Trump campaign to research the matter.

Donald Trump’s son appeared to lose interest, said Rinat Akhmetshin.

“They couldn’t wait for the meeting to end,” he added.

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President Donald Trump has joined French President Emmanuel Macron the Bastille Day parade in Paris, where US and French troops marched together down the Champs-Élysées.

Donald Trump was guest of honor as the annual parade this time marked 100 years since the Americans entered World War One.

President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing will ever separate” France and the US, and President Trump’s presence showed “a friendship across the ages”.

Earlier Emmanuel Macron stood in a military jeep and inspected the troops.

He is now in Nice, attending a commemoration for last year’s Bastille Day terrorist attack, in which a Tunisian-born man drove a huge lorry into a celebrating crowd on the beachfront, killing 86 people.

Image source Wikimedia

At the start of the ceremony people were honored for their heroism on the night.

They included Franck Terrier, the man who drove his scooter alongside the speeding truck and jumped on to its cab, punching the driver through the window in a desperate attempt to force him to stop.

Franck Terrier was given a lengthy ovation and awarded the Légion d’honneur – France’s highest order of merit.

France remains under a state of emergency, following a spate of terror attacks by jihadists.

In Paris earlier, President Donald Trump and the First Lady warmly embraced their French counterparts – Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

Donald Trump called Bastille Day “a wonderful national celebration”.

“Our two nations are forever joined together by the spirit of revolution and the fight for freedom,” he said.

Earlier, he suggested he could review his position on climate change, after Emmanuel Macron argued in defense of the 2015 Paris accord.

G20 Final Agreement Acknowledges Donald Trump’s Withdrawal from Paris Climate Change Deal

“Something could happen with respect to the Paris accord,” President Trump said.

“We’ll see what happens.”

Last month President Trump had said the US would withdraw from the Paris accord, citing moves to negotiate a new “fair” deal that would not disadvantage US businesses.

Yesterday, First Lady Melania Trump toured Notre Dame cathedral with Brigitte Macron, and prayed before a statue of the Virgin Mary.

China’s most prominent human rights and democracy advocate and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo has died aged 61.

Liu Xiaobo had been serving an 11-year prison term for “subversion” and was recently moved to a hospital due to a terminal liver cancer.

A university professor turned tireless rights campaigner, Liu Xiaobo was branded a criminal by authorities.

The Nobel Committee said the Chinese government bore a “heavy responsibility” for Liu Xiaobo’s death.

He was repeatedly jailed throughout his life. When not in prison, Liu Xiaobo was subject to severe restrictions while his wife, Liu Xia, was placed under house arrest.

Liu Hui: China Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo’s brother-in-law sentenced to 11 years in jail

Liu Xiaobo played a significant role in the Tiananmen student protests of June 1989 which ended in bloodshed when they were quashed by troops.

Image source Wikipedia

He and other activists negotiated the safe exit of several hundred demonstrators, and have been credited with saving the protesters’ lives.

Liu Xiaobo was subsequently placed in a detention center and released in 1991.

Liu Xiaobo’s brother-in-law Liu Hui arrested in China

His campaign to free those detained during Tiananmen landed him in a labor camp in north-eastern China for three years but he was permitted to marry poet Liu Xia there in 1996.

Liu Xiaobo was later freed, and continued to campaign for democracy.

The 11-year jail term he was serving when he died was handed down in 2009 after he compiled, with other intellectuals, the Charter 08 manifesto.

This was a call for an end to one-party rule and the introduction of multi-party democracy. Liu Xiaobo was found guilty of trying to overthrow the state.

He was a pro-democracy figurehead for activists outside mainland China, although many of his compatriots were unaware of his struggles because the authorities rigorously censored news about him.

Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”, but he was not permitted to travel to Norway to accept it.

Liu Xiaobo was the second person to receive the award while in prison – the other was the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won in 1935 while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp.

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Brazil’s ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to nine and a half years in jail.

The judge ruled Lula da Silva could remain free pending an appeal.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has rejected claims that he received an apartment as a bribe in a corruption scandal linked to state oil company Petrobras.

The former leader says the trial is politically motivated and has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

The case is the first of five charges against Lula da Silva.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva served eight years as president until 2011 and has expressed interest in running again in the 2018 elections for the left-wing Workers’ Party.

Image source Wikimedia

On July 12, a judge found the former president guilty of accepting bribes from engineering company OAS in the form of a beachfront apartment in return for his help in winning contracts with the state oil company.

In a statement, his lawyers insisted he was innocent and said they would appeal.

“For more than three years Lula has been subject to a politically motivated investigation. No credible evidence of guilt has been produced, and overwhelming proof of his innocence blatantly ignored,” they wrote.

The head of the Workers’ Party, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, also hit out at the ruling, saying it was designed to stop Lula da Silva standing for office.

Gleisi Hoffmann said the party would protest against the decision.

In theory, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is free to run in the presidential election until the legal process ends.

The charges he faces relate to the Car Wash scandal, the nickname for Brazil’s biggest ever corruption probe.

Operation Car Wash was launched three years ago amid escalating public anger over political corruption.

The investigation centers on companies that were allegedly offered deals with Petrobras in exchange for bribes, which were funneled into politicians’ pockets and party slush funds.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former steel worker turned union leader, came to office as the first left-wing leader in Brazil in nearly half a century.

He was Brazil’s most popular president during his tenure – former President Barack Obama labeled him the most popular politician on Earth.

Unable to stand for a third consecutive term, he was succeeded by close ally Dilma Rousseff, who was later impeached.

Brazil’s current President Michel Temer also faces corruption allegations and is resisting calls for him to step down.

Donald Trump Jr. has said he did not tell his father about a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who said she could help his election campaign.

President Trump’s son told Fox News the meeting was “just a nothing” but he should have handled it differently.

He released emails showing he had welcomed an offer to meet Natalia Veselnitskaya, who allegedly had Kremlin ties and material damaging to Hillary Clinton.

US officials are investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

Since he was elected, Donald Trump has been dogged by allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

President Trump has denied any knowledge of this and Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering.

Image source Wikipedia

Asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity if he had told his father about last year’s meeting, Donald Trump Jr. said: “No. It was such a nothing. There was nothing to tell.

“I mean, I wouldn’t have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame.”

Donald Trump Jr., his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York in June 2016.

Donald Trump Jr.’s Email Chain on Russia Meeting in Full

Donald Trump’s son received an email from an intermediary, British music publicist Rob Goldstone, promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Hillary Clinton.

At that time, Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and heading towards an election fight against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

The meeting was reportedly arranged by Russian businessman Aras Agalarov and his son Emin, a pop star who was managed for a time by Rob Goldstone.

Russia Threatens to Expel 30 US Diplomats in Retaliation for Washington’s Sanctions

One email from Rob Goldstone said the information they had been promised was “obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump”.

Donald Trump Jr.’s response to it was: “If it’s what you say I love it.”

The meeting took place, but Donald Trump Jr. told Fox News Natalia Veselnitskaya had provided them with nothing of use and it only lasted 20 minutes.

Donald Trump Jr. has released an email chain showing he was offered “sensitive” information on Hillary Clinton by a Russian national.

Here’s a statement by Donald Trump Jr. published on July 11, 2017:

“To everyone, in order to be totally transparent, I am releasing the entire email chain of my emails with Rob Goldstone about the meeting on June 9, 2016. The first email on June 3, 2016 was from Rob, who was relating a request from Emin, a person I knew from 2013 Ms. Universe Pageant near Moscow. Emin and his father have a very highly respected company in Moscow. The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research. I first wanted to just have phone call but when that didn’t work out, they said the woman would be in new York and asked if I would meet. I decided to take the meeting. The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official. And, as we have said, she had no information to provide and wanted to talk about adoption policy and the Magnitsky Act. To put this in context, this occurred before the current Russian fever was in vogue. As Rob Goldstone said just today in the press, the entire meeting was <<the most inane nonsense I ever heard. And I was actually agitated by it>>.”

Rob Goldstone is a publicist, Emin Agalarov is an Azerbaijani businessman and singer-songwriter. Aras Agalarov is Emin’s father and an Azerbaijani-Russian businessman and public figure.

Image source Wikimedia

Donald Trump Jr. Releases Email Chain Showing Russia Communication

Below is the full text of the exchange in chronological order and also a statement released by President Trump’s son:

On June 3, 2016, at 10:36, Rob Goldstone  wrote:

Good morning

Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting.

The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and be very useful to your father.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump – helped along by Aras and Emin.

What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?

I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.

Best

Rob Goldstone

On June 3, 2016, at 10:53, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

Thanks Rob I appreciate that,. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summers. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?

Best,

Don

On June 6, 2016, at 12:40, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Hi Don

Let me know when you are free to talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info – you had mentioned early this week so wanted to try to schedule a time and day Best to you and family Rob Goldstone

On June 6, 2016, at 15:03, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

Rob could we speak now?

d

On June 6, 2016, at 15:37, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Let me track him down in Moscow

What number he could call?

On June 6, 2016, at 15:38, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

My cell thanks

On June 6, 2016, at 15:43, Rob Goldstone wrote:

OK he’s on stage in Moscow but should be off within 20 minutes so I am sure can call Rob

On June 6, 2016, at 16:38, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

Rob thanks for the help.

D.

On June 7, 2016, at 16:20, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Don

Hope all is well

Emin asked that I schedule a meeting with you and The Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this Thursday.

I believe you are aware of the meeting – and so wondered if 3pm or later on Thursday works for you?

I assume it would be at your office.

Best

Rob Goldstone

On June 7, 2016, at 17:16, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

How about 3 at our offices? Thanks rob appreciate you helping set it up.

D

On June 7, 2016, at 17:19, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Perfect… I won’t sit in on the meeting, but will bring them at 3pm and introduce you etc.

I will send the names of the two people with you for security when I have them later today.

best

Rob

On June 7, 2016, at 18:14, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

Great. It will likely be Paul Manafort (campaign boss) my brother in law [Jared Kushner] and me. 725 Fifth Ave 25th floor.

On June 8, 2016, at 10:34, Rob Goldstone wrote:

Good morning

Would it be possible to move tomorrow meeting at 4pm as the Russian attorney is in court until 3 i was just informed.

Best

Rob

On June 8, 2016, at 11:15, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:

Yes Rob I could do that unless they wanted to do 3 today instead… just let me know and ill lock it in either way.

d

On June 8, 2016, at 11:18, Rob Goldstone wrote:

They can’t do today as she hasn’t landed yet from Moscow 4pm is great tomorrow.

Best

Rob

On June 8, 2016 at 12:03, Donald Trump Jr. wrote to Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort:

Meeting got moved to 4 tomorrow at my offices.

Best,

Don

Donald Trump Jr. has released an email chain showing he was keen to accept “sensitive” information on Hillary Clinton from a Russian national.

Publicist Rob Goldstone tells Donald Trump Jr. that there is information that is “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump”.

Donald Trump’s son replies: “If it’s what you say, I love it.”

The emails led to a meeting in New York with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

It appears to be the first confirmation that a Trump associate attended a meeting in the expectation of being handed sensitive information from Russian officials.

US officials are currently investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

Donald Trump Jr. Admits Meeting Russian Lawyer During Campaign

President Donald Trump issued a brief statement in support of his son, describing him as “a high-quality person” and applauding his transparency.

Image source Wikimedia

The emails to Donald Trump Jr., which he released on Twitter, say “the crown prosecutor of Russia” (a role that does not exist) had “offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father”.

The email chain was also forwarded to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and campaign manager Paul Manafort.

All three later met Natalia Veselnitskaya at New York’s Trump Tower.

Russia Investigation: Jared Kushner Is under FBI Scrutiny

Since he was elected, Donald Trump has been dogged by allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The president has denied any knowledge of this and Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering.

In May, the DoJ appointed ex-FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to look into the Russian matter.

The New York Times first reported on July 8 that a meeting had taken place on June 9, 2016, between Natalia Veselnitskaya and the Trump team.

It later reported that Donald Trump Jr. had earlier been offered alleged damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

The Times had been expected to publish emails connected to the meeting, but Donald Trump Jr. pre-empted this by posting the email chain on Twitter.

He had earlier admitted meeting Natalia Veselnitskaya but insisted she had provided “no meaningful information”. He said she had wanted to talk about adoptions.

Natalia Veselnitskaya, who has been linked to the Russian government, has insisted she was never in possession of information that could have damaged Hillary Clinton.

The Russian lawyer said Donald Trump’s son and two senior campaign aides may have met her last summer because they were “longing” for such information. She has denied any connection with the Kremlin.

The email chain released by Donald Trump Jr. shows that:

  • On June 3, 2016, he received an email from intermediary Rob Goldstone promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Hillary Clinton and her supposed dealings with Russia;
  • One email from Rob Goldstone said the information they had been promised was “obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump”;
  • The person who was to meet Donald Trump Jr. in New York was described as “a Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow”;
  • Within the week, a meeting had been arranged which included Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.

Donald Trump Jr. also posted a statement saying he was releasing the email chain “to be totally transparent” and reiterated that the Russian lawyer had “no information to provide”.

Rob Goldstone has previously denied any knowledge of involvement in the election by the Russian government.

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Russia is threatening to expel about 30 US diplomats and seize US state property in retaliation for Washington’s sanctions, local officials confirm.

The threat came from Russian foreign ministry sources, quoted by the daily Izvestia. Other Russian officials have made similar statements recently.

In December 2016, the Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two intelligence compounds.

The measures were a response to alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

Russia was already under US sanctions.

Former President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources had accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Trump Vows To “Move Forward” In Relations With Russia

President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of the Obama sanctions with President Donald Trump when they met in Hamburg last week, Izvestia reported.

Meanwhile, the Trump team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year’s presidential campaign. Russia has strongly denied interfering in the election.

In addition to expelling 35 Russian diplomats from Washington and San Francisco, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on nine entities and individuals including Russia’s GRU and FSB intelligence agencies. The US closed Russian intelligence compounds in New York and Maryland.

Donald Trump Jr. Admits Meeting Russian Lawyer During Campaign

President Putin refrained from tit-for-tat retaliation – unlike in previous diplomatic spats.

Russia says President Donald Trump presented “no plan to resolve the crisis” when the issue was raised in Hamburg.

An unnamed Russian diplomat told Izvestia that in retaliation Russia could seize a US government dacha (country villa) at Serebryany Bor, to the northwest of Moscow, and a US warehouse in the city itself.

Donald Trump Shifts His Position on Working with Russia for A Joint Cyber Security Unity

However, the US ambassador’s Spaso House residence and the Anglo-American School in St Petersburg would not be affected.

Russia would carry out the threat if no compromise was reached at a St Petersburg meeting later this month between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, Izvestia reported.

The US and its Western allies have also imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia because of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine conflict.

Russia blocked most imported Western food and drink in retaliation.

Donald Trump Jr. has admitted meeting a Russian lawyer last year who, he says, promised to reveal damaging material on Hillary Clinton.

However, the president’s son insisted that Natalia Veselnitskaya had provided “no meaningful information” on his father’s rival for the presidency.

President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign head, Paul J. Manafort, were also at the meeting.

US officials are currently investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

The meeting took place on June 9, 2016, at New York’s Trump Tower, just two weeks after Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination.

Donald Trump Shifts His Position on Working with Russia for A Joint Cyber Security Unity

It is thought to be the first confirmed private meeting between a Russian national and members of Donald Trump’s inner circle.

After the New York Times first reported the meeting on July 8, Donald Trump Jr. released a statement which confirmed that it had taken place but did not mention whether it was related to the presidential campaign.

However, another Times report, on the next day, said Donald Trump Jr. had agreed to the meeting after being offered information that would potentially prove detrimental to Hillary Clinton.

Russia Election Hacking: Donald Trump Accuses Obama Administration of Inaction

The newspaper cited three White House advisers briefed on the meeting, and two others with knowledge for it, as its sources.

Image source Wikimedia

Donald Trump Jr. said that an acquaintance he had known from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant had set up the meeting. The Washington Post confirmed that figure to be music publicist Rob Goldstone, who has links to the Russian music industry.

In a statement on July 9, Donald Trump Jr. said he had been asked to meet “an individual who I was told might have information helpful to the campaign”.

“I was not told her name prior to the meeting. I asked Jared [Kushner] and Paul [Manafort] to attend, but told them nothing of the substance.”

Donald Trump Jr.’s statement continues: “After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Mrs. Clinton.

“Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information.

“She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children and mentioned the Magnitsky Act.

“It became clear to me that this was the true agenda all along and that the claims of potentially helpful information were a pretext for the meeting.”

Russia Investigation: Jared Kushner Is under FBI Scrutiny

Natalia Veselnitskaya said on July 8 that “nothing at all was discussed about the presidential campaign” and insisted she had “never acted on behalf of the Russian government and have never discussed any of these matters with any representative of the Russian government”.

The Magnitsky Act was adopted by Congress in 2012 and allows the US to withhold visas and freeze financial assets of Russian officials thought to have been involved in human rights violations.

The law so incensed President Vladimir Putin that he suspended a program allowing Americans to adopt Russian children.

Natalia Veselnitskaya is a lawyer whose clients include companies and individuals said to be close to the Kremlin and her main role has been campaigning against the Magnitsky Act.

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President Donald Trump has backtracked on a proposal to work with Russia to create an “impenetrable” cyber security unit to prevent election hacking.

Hours after promoting the idea on July 9, Donald Trump said that he did not think it could actually happen.

The idea of a partnership with Russia was ridiculed by senior Republicans.

It comes after President Trump’s first face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany on July 7, in which the pair discussed the issue.

G20 Hamburg: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Meet Face to Face for First Time

President Trump described the outcome of the talks as positive and suggested closer co-operation between the two nations.

“Putin and I discussed forming an impenetrable cyber security unit so that election hacking, and many other negative things, will be guarded and safe,” he said.

The initial proposal immediately prompted derision from Democrats, as well as some Republicans who questioned why the US would work with Russia after the Kremlin’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.

Russia Hacking Briefing: Vladimir Putin Developed a Clear Preference for Donald Trump

President Trump shifted his position on the next day, saying on Twitter: “The fact that President Putin and I discussed a cyber security unit doesn’t mean I think it can happen. It can’t.”

However, the president stressed that another issue discussed in his talks with Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire in south-western Syria, had come into effect.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had sought to defend the proposed cyber unit after President Trump’s initial announcement.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Steve Mnuchin described it as a “significant accomplishment” for President Trump.

“What we want to make sure is that we co-ordinate with Russia,” he added.

Rex Tillerson Hearing: Trump’s Pick for Secretary of State Accepts Vladimir Putin Knew of Russian Hacking

However, Republican Senator Marco Rubio suggested that such an initiative would be like partnering with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on chemical weapons.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said: “It’s not the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, but it’s pretty close.”

A special prosecutor is investigating whether Trump associates colluded with alleged Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US election.

Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin said the allegations had been discussed.

However, the two sides described the content of the meeting differently.

President Trump said he “strongly pressed” the issue with Vladimir Putin, who had “vehemently denied” interfering in the US election.

The president also said it was time to work more “constructively” with Russia.

Vladimir Putin said he believed President Trump had accepted his assurances that Moscow had not interfered in the vote.

However, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said interference in the 2016 election remained an impediment to better relations with Russia, while the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the US “can’t trust Russia” and “won’t ever trust Russia”.

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Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has surprisingly praised opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez’s jail release.

Leopoldo Lopez, one of Venezuela’s main opposition leaders, has been moved to house arrest after more than three years in jail.

He left a prison near Caracas and was reunited with his family on July 8.

Leopoldo Lopez Mendoza was serving a 14-year sentence for inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014, a charge he has always denied. The Supreme Court said he was released on health grounds.

Venezuela: Leopoldo Lopez Jailed for 13 Years and Nine Months

President Maduro said he “respected” and “supported” the Supreme Court’s decision but called for “a message of peace and rectification” in Venezuela.

Hours after being freed, Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to continue protesting in the streets against Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela’s opposition and international powers have long pressed for Lopez’s freedom. The head of the Organization of American States regional bloc, Luis Almagro, said the court’s decision offered an opportunity for national reconciliation.

Image source Flickr

Former opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles stressed “he must be given his full liberty together with all political prisoners”, Reuters reported.

Giving a glimpse of his son’s life behind bars, Leopoldo Lopez’s father told Spanish radio “a few days ago they had punished him with solitary confinement without light or water for three days”.

He said his son was now wearing an electronic tag so that the authorities could keep abreast of his movements.

Venezuela: Brazilian Senators Attacked After Trying to Meet Jailed Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez

Leopoldo Lopez’s wife had complained that she had not been allowed to see him for more than a month, but on July 7 she tweeted she had been allowed an hour-long meeting.

In May, a government lawmaker published a video of Leopoldo Lopez in his cell following rumors that he had been poisoned and taken to hospital.

In the video, Leopoldo Lopez – a Harvard-educated former mayor who has been prevented by the government from standing for public office – said he was well and did not know why he was being asked to prove he was still alive.

Venezuela has been experiencing a wave of anti-government protests similar to those over which Leopoldo Lopez was jailed.

The opposition is calling for early elections and the release of opposition politicians jailed in recent years, saying the socialist governments of President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, have mismanaged the economy since coming to power in 1999.

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Leaders of 19 nations at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, have renewed their pledge to implement the Paris deal on climate change, despite the US pulling out.

Deadlock over the issue had held up the last day of talks in Hamburg but a final agreement was eventually reached.

The final agreement acknowledges President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement without undermining the commitment of other countries.

The compromise comes after violent protests in the host city.

The joint summit statement released on July 8 said: “We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.”

However, the leaders of the other G20 members agreed the accord was “irreversible”.

The statement also said the US would “endeavor to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently”.

President Trump has pledged to help the US coal industry make a comeback and has previously characterized the Paris agreement as aiming to disadvantage his country’s workers.

In press conference as the two-day summit drew to a close, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she still deplored President Trump’s position on the Paris accord but she was “gratified” the other 19 nations opposed its renegotiation.

As well as insisting on the inclusion of separate America-only paragraphs in the final text, Donald Trump canceled his own scheduled news conference on July 8, reinforcing the image of the G20 as the G19 + 1.

“I think it’s very clear that we could not reach consensus, but the differences were not papered over, they were clearly stated,” Angela Merkel told reporters.

Angela Merkel said she did not share the view of UK Prime Minister Theresa May that Washington could decide to return to the climate agreement.

However, Theresa May reiterated her belief that the US could rejoin the accord in her news conference on July 8.

French President Emmanuel Macron also remained hopeful of persuading President Trump to change his mind, saying: “I never despair of convincing him because I think it’s my duty.”

Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would host another summit on December 12 to make further progress on the climate agreement and to address financing.

There have been large protests in the city, with demonstrators and armed police clashing into the early hours of Saturday.

G20 Hamburg: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Meet Face to Face for First Time

Demonstrators – who were protesting against the presence of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, climate change and global wealth inequalities – set fire to vehicles and barricades, threw rocks at officers and looted shops.

At one point, police chased protesters across rooftops while officers on the streets used water cannon on protesters.

Nearly 200 police officers were injured during the protests. Dozens of protesters have been detained.

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According to Japanese officials, the death toll from flooding caused by recent heavy rain in the country’s southern region has risen to at least 15.

Rescue teams are searching for another 15 people who are missing.

Rivers burst their banks, destroying buildings and roads after more than 20in of rain fell on parts of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island, over a 12-hour period on July 5.

Image source Wikimedia

Emergency teams are working through thick mud to try to reach stranded survivors. Hundreds have already been evacuated.

The worst-hit areas are in Fukuoka prefecture.

Japan floods: more than 250,000 people ordered to leave their homes

Announcing the revised death toll, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the region was expected to see further heavy rain on July 8.

About 12,000 police, military, firefighters and coast guard personnel have taking part in the rescue operation.

Japan Flood 2015: At Least Three Dead and Hundreds Stranded

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Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have met face to face for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

They have discussed the alleged Russian hacking of last year’s US presidential election.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the exchanges as “robust”.

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said President Trump had accepted President Putin’s assertions that Russia was not responsible.

However, Rex Tillerson said it was not clear whether the US and Russia would ever come to an agreement on what happened.

“I think the president is rightly focused on how do we move forward from something that may be an intractable disagreement at this point,” the secretary of state added.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which is being held amid sometimes violent protests.

Donald Trump Warsaw Speech: “Russia Has to Stop Destabilizing Ukraine”

Other topics discussed during their meeting – which lasted nearly two-and-a-quarter hours, longer than originally planned – included the war in Syria, terrorism and cybersecurity.

Image NBC News

Rex Tillerson, part of the US delegation, told reporters afterwards: “The president opened the meeting with President Putin by raising the concerns of the American people regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.”

“They had a very robust and lengthy exchange on the subject. The president pressed President Putin on more than one occasion regarding Russian involvement.

“President Putin denied such involvement, as I think he has done in the past.”

Rex Tillerson said the two leaders had “connected very quickly”, adding: “There was a very clear positive chemistry between the two. There are so many issues on the table… Just about everything got touched upon… Neither one of them wanted to stop.

“I believe they even sent in the First Lady [Melania Trump] at one point to see if she could get us out of there, but that didn’t work either… We did another hour. Clearly she failed!”

Russia Election Hacking: Donald Trump Accuses Obama Administration of Inaction

Sergei Lavrov told reporters: “President Trump said he heard clear statements… that Russian authorities did not intervene [in the US election], and he accepted these declarations.”

Rex Tillerson was asked as he was leaving the news conference if this was accurate, but declined to answer.

Earlier, as the talks began in front of the media before going into private session, President Trump told President Putin: “It’s an honor to be with you.”

President Putin replied: “I’m delighted to meet you personally.”

Donald Trump added: “Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it’s going very well.

“We’ve had some very, very good talks. We’re going to have a talk now and obviously that will continue. We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned.”

Vladimir Putin, via a translator, said that while they had previously spoken by phone, that would never be as good as meeting face to face.

The G20 (Group of Twenty) is a summit for 19 countries, both developed and developing, plus the EU.

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President Donald Trump has urged Russia to stop “destabilizing” Ukraine and other countries and end support for “hostile regimes” such as those in Syria and Iran.

Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, Donald Trump urged Russia to “join the community of responsible nations”.

Russia rejected the president’s comments.

Image source AP

Donald Trump has traveled to Hamburg for the G20 summit, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time.

The president also faces differences with other leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said last week that the G20 would focus on the Paris climate deal – which the US has withdrawn from.

Up to 100,000 protesters are expected over the two-day event and police have warned of potentially violent clashes. They have already confiscated a number of homemade weapons.

In Warsaw, President Trump argued that the future of Western civilization itself was at stake and asked whether the West had the “will to survive”.

He urged Russia to join the “fight against common enemies and in defense of civilization itself”.

Donald Trump also hailed Poland as an example of a country ready to defend Western freedoms.

Poland’s conservative government shares President Trump’s hostile view of immigration and strong sense of sovereignty.

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was photographed relaxing on a state beach he had ordered closed to the public.

He gave the go-ahead for non-essential services to be shut down – including the Island State Beach Park – over the July 4 holiday weekend because of a budget impasse.

“I didn’t get any sun today,” Chris Christie said, before the aerial photos emerged.

The images show the governor and his family on an otherwise empty beach.

Other visitors were turned away by police.

Chris Christie said his family was spending the weekend at the governor’s residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.

Image source Flickr

“That’s just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there,” he said at a news conference on July 2.

“I didn’t get any sun today,” he added.

After being told of the photographs, Chris Christie’s spokesman Brian Murray admitted the governor had “briefly” been on the beach “talking to his wife and family before heading into the office”.

Bridgegate: Chris Christie Gets Criminal Summons

“He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on,” Brian Murray added, NJ.com reported.

The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health insurance bill that Chris Christie said had to be passed alongside the state’s budget.

The shutdown included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey’s few free public beaches, and all other state parks.

Chris Christie had been trying to get the state’s largest health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over $300 million, some of which Chris Christie wanted to use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York Times reported.

New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning of the month.

President Donald Trump has defended his persistent use of social media in a series of tweets, following a row over comments he made about MSNBC presenters Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

The president tweeted on July 1: “My use of social media is not presidential – it’s modern day presidential.”

Earlier in the week, Donald Trump launched a crude personal attack on Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

The president’s tweets were condemned by Democrats and Republicans alike, despite the White House springing to his defense.

President Trump’s aides have previously expressed concern over his tweets.

Top Republicans Disapprove Donald Trump’s Attack on Mika Brzezinski

However, Donald Trump said on July 1 that social media gave him the opportunity to connect directly to the public, bypassing the mainstream media, whose content he regularly labels as “fake news”.

The resident tweeted: “The FAKE & FRAUDULENT NEWS MEDIA is working hard to convince Republicans and others I should not use social media.”

He added: “But remember, I won the 2016 election with interviews, speeches and social media.”

Image source Wikipedia

Donald Trump also stepped up his attack on CNN after the network retracted an article alleging that one of the president’s aides was under investigation by Congress.

“I am extremely pleased to see that @CNN has finally been exposed as #FakeNews and garbage journalism. It’s about time!”

The story that caused the upset, which was later removed from the website following an internal investigation, resulted in the resignations of three CNN journalists: Thomas Frank, investigative unit editor and Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Lictblau and Lex Harris, who oversaw the investigations unit.

President Trump Criticizes Growing Number of States Refusing to Pass Voters Data

Donald Trump has repeatedly called CNN “fake news” and has previously labeled Buzzfeed a “failing pile of garbage”.

At a news conference in February, President Trump was introduced to the BBC’s North America editor, Jon Sopel, to which he responded: “Here’s another beauty.”

Meanwhile, addressing military veterans at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington on July 1, President Trump promised that America would “win again”, prompting cheers from the crowd as he attacked media outlets.

“The fake media is trying to silence us, but we will not let them,” Donald Trump said at the Celebrate Freedom Rally.

“The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House. But I’m president, and they’re not.”

President Trump has more than 33 million followers on Twitter. Although it is becoming seemingly more difficult for the president to shock this audience, his 140-character posts have been condemned by both politicians and commentators.

Some consider the language used by President Trump as unsuitable for the holder of the highest office. On June 30, the New York Post published a three-word editorial on Donald Trump’s tweets: “Stop. Just stop.”

It followed the president’s tweets on June 29 mocking MSNBC Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski, saying she had been “bleeding badly from a facelift” when he saw her six months ago.

Donald Trump also verbally attacked her co-host and partner, Joe Scarborough, describing him as “psycho Joe”.

Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough hit back, accusing the president of an “unhealthy obsession” with them”. They alleged the White House had tried to blackmail them into apologizing for their show’s negative coverage of President Trump.

Despite the criticism, Donald Trump stepped up his attack on Mika Brzezinksi on July 1, calling her “dumb as a rock”.

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Canada marked its 150th anniversary as a country in cities, towns and at backyard barbecues nationwide.

Revelers, police and some protesters converged on Ottawa on July 2 for a party that has been years in the planning.

However, the biggest bash was at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where thousands of people joined the celebrations.

Large crowds turned out in their droves – albeit huddled under umbrellas, trying to avoid the rain.

Some partygoers got to the hill before the sun had even risen.

Their early morning netted them a prime spot right next to the main stage.

The celebrations included a concert by Canadian artists, a display from Canada’s aerobatics squadron the Snowbirds, a citizenship ceremony for new Canadians, and a massive fireworks display.

Justin Trudeau Welcomes First Syrian Refugees Arriving in Canada

Canadian theater giants Cirque du Soleil performed, and Bono and The Edge from the rock band U2 serenaded the crowd with an acoustic set.

PM Justin Trudeau, who has made inclusiveness a political calling card, gave a speech celebrating that attribute.

“We don’t care where you’re from or what religion you practise, or whom you love – you are all welcome in Canada,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

Justin Trudeau’s speech was delivered in both English and French, a tradition in Canada, which recognizes both as its official languages.

“This is as good a reason as any to reflect on our past, to cheer on today, and to recommit ourselves to the future,” the prime minister said to the 25,000 partygoers who had waited hours to get past security and on to the parliament’s lawn.

Image source Flickr

However, Justin Trudeau also took a moment to remember Canada’s indigenous people, whom he said had been “the victims of oppression” since the first settlers arrived.

“As a society, we must acknowledge past mistakes,” he said, telling the audience that there was still much work to be done in order to achieve reconciliation.

However, Canada, the prime minister said, was determined to see a reconciliation over the coming years and decades.

“It is a choice we make not because of what we did, or who we were, but because of who we are,” he said.

Indigenous culture was represented in many ways across the festivities, with a number of indigenous performers participating in Canada Day concerts in the capital region.

However, some indigenous peoples refused to recognize Canada 150, saying it represented more than a hundred years of colonization.

Sandwiched between security fences and to the west of the main stage on the parliament’s lawn, a group of indigenous protesters set up a teepee.

They were allowed to stay on Parliament Hill after erecting the structure in the early hours of June 29 in what organizers called a “reoccupation”.

Across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, crowds also lined up to see Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall open a new hall at Canada’s Museum of History.

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles’ mother, is Canada’s head of state.

Queen Elizabeth II Jokes with New Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

Canada shelled out an estimated C$500 million ($385 million) on everything from festivities to security and infrastructure projects.

Canada Day, held on July 1 each year, marks the merging of four former British colonies into a single new country. It is a national holiday.

The country grew in size in the years that followed, and finally achieved complete autonomy from the UK in 1931.

It was not until 1982, however, that the British parliament transferred final legal powers to Canada, including the power to amend its constitution.

President Donald Trump has criticized the growing number of states refusing to pass on voters’ details to his commission on electoral fraud.

The president tweeted: “What are they trying to hide?”

At least 20 states have said that they will not or only partly comply with the request, citing privacy concerns.

Democrats fear that the commission may be used to justify tightening voting procedures – changes which could make certain groups less likely to vote.

The groups most affected by so-called voter suppression tend to vote Democrat.

However, it is not just Democrats who are opposed to the collection of such data by the federal government.

Mississippi’s Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, said in an official statement that his reply to the commission would be “they can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi is a great state to launch from”.

Donald Trump Describes Wisconsin Vote Recount as Scam

Donald Trump set up the commission to investigate claims – unsubstantiated, but which he repeats – that millions of fraudulent votes cost him the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Image source Flickr

He secured more votes in the all-important Electoral College than Hillary Clinton, thus winning the presidency.

Donald Trump established the Presidential Advisory commission on Election Integrity in May, despite evidence that voter fraud is not a widespread problem in the US.

The aim is to “increase the American people’s confidence in the integrity of our election systems”.

Hillary Clinton’s Campaign to Participate in Wisconsin Vote Recount

Kentucky’s Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes, said she would not be releasing “sensitive personal data to the federal government”.

She said in a statement: “Kentucky will not aid a commission that is at best a waste of taxpayer money and at worst an attempt to legitimize voter suppression efforts across the country.”

The panel, described by President Trump as “very distinguished,” is chaired by Vice-President Mike Pence.

On June 28, its vice-chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, sent a letter to the 50 US states and the District of Columbia requesting details from voter rolls including: names, addresses, dates of birth, political affiliation, last four digits of social security number, voting history since 2006, criminal convictions and military status.

The information would be used “to fully analyze vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting,” the letter said.

Many other states, including Alabama, California, Connecticut and Minnesota have said they will not send the information, or will only send information that is already publically available.

Germany’s parliament has voted to legalize gay marriage days after Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her opposition to a vote.

The reform grants gay couples now limited to civil unions full marital rights, and allows them to adopt children.

Angela Merkel’s political opponents were strongly in favor. However, the chancellor, who signaled her backing for a free vote only on June 26, voted against.

The bill was backed by 393 lawmakers, 226 voted against and four abstained.

According to the AFP, the German legal code will now read: “Marriage is entered into for life by two people of different or the same sex.”

Barack Obama has become the first sitting US president to back same-sex marriage

Following June 30 vote, Angela Merkel said that for her marriage was between a man and a woman. But she said she hoped the passing of the bill would lead to more “social cohesion and peace”.

Image source Getty

During her 2013 election campaign, Angela Merkel argued against gay marriage on the grounds of “children’s welfare,” and admitted that she had a “hard time” with the issue.

However, in an on-stage interview with the women’s magazine Brigitte on June 26, Angela Merkel shocked the German media by saying, in response to an audience member’s question, that she had noted other parties’ support for gay marriage, and would allow a free vote at an unspecified time in the future.

Xavier Bettel Marriage: Luxembourg PM Marries Partner Gauthier Destenay

Angela Merkel also said she had had a “life-changing experience” in her home constituency, where she had dinner with a lesbian couple who cared for eight foster children together.

As the news spread on Twitter, supporters rallied under the hashtag #EheFuerAlle (MarriageForAll) – and started calling for a vote as soon as possible.

Angela Merkel’s current coalition partners – the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), who are trailing her Christian Democrats (CDU) in opinion polls – then seized the political initiative.

They called for a vote by the time parliament went into summer recess at the end of the week – prompting Angela Merkel to complain she’d been “ambushed”.

A recent survey by the government’s anti-discrimination agency found that 83% of Germans were in favor of marriage equality.

The day after the Republic of Ireland voted to legalize gay marriage in May 2015, almost every German newspaper splashed a rainbow across its front page.

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Glendale is a blessed city, so it is not surprising that new house owners and tenants often come to this place to realize their American dream. Though, relocation is usually a hard thing to do. Even a thought about moving frustrates people. At the same time, changing the place of living or location of your company will turn into a pleasant adventure, if you remember 4 crucially important things.

1 – Trust Experts Only

Since you want to move easy and without any rush, find credible registered movers. In the north suburb of Los Angeles Glendale moving company can help you do a residential or commercial move.

Choosing a moving agency, pay attention to working experience of the team, customers’ feedback, working hours and insurance possibilities. The latter criterion is the most eloquent one because only trusted movers with many years of experience guarantee that they cover a potential loss of things when moving.

2 – Do a Reserve List

Good moving companies offer not only loaders and trucks but also advise on some organizational issues. They do a list of all things they are going to transfer and follow clients’ instructions carefully.

Nevertheless, it is better to have a reserve copy of the list of items to be delivered to your new place. Such approach is helpful, if a dispute with a moving company occurs. It’s also very important to make a master moving checklist where you can easily check off things one by one as the process unfolds.

3 – Draw a Plan of Unloading

Do not hesitate to ask about some additional or special services. If you hire professionals from moving companies, draw them a sketch of unloading. Think about the end result you expect. Do you want to order only the delivery of things or come to a new house or office with carefully arranged furniture and packaged items according to your plan?

Specialists can help you arrange boxes in the specified rooms and organize a new space in a certain order. Thus you will avoid one of the most unpleasant moments when moving – the sensation of chaos.

4 – Have Your Very Important Bag on You

Collect all important things like documents, keys, credit cards and cash, office stamps, etc. into one bag or box and carry it by yourself. There are cases when people come to a new place but cannot find their passports, documents for real estate, children’s certificates of birth, medical policies and so on.

Also put the essentials in a separate package, if you do not want to run behind the napkins to the nearest shop. Do not rely on chance. Think in advance about important little things, so as not to get into trouble.

These four simple recommendations are very helpful in practice. Just follow them to make your move successful! Good luck and see you in Glendale!

President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban comes into effect on June 30 and people from six mainly Muslim countries and all refugees now face tougher US entry due to.

According to the new order, people without “close” family or business relationships in the US could be denied visas and barred entry.

The rules apply to people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, as well as to all refugees.

Lawyers took up positions as US airports, offering free advice.

However, there was no sign of the chaos that affected travelers when the first version of the ban was brought in at a few hours’ notice in January.

Image source Wikipedia

That is because the executive order does not affect people who already have valid visas or green cards.

US Travel Ban: White House Sets New Criteria for Visa Applicants from Six Muslim Countries

The Department of Homeland Security said it expected “business as usual at our ports of entry”.

The Supreme Court ruling on June 26 upheld the temporary ban, a key Trump policy.

However, the judges provided a major exception, for those who have “a credible claim of a bona fide relationship” with someone in the US.

The effect is that citizens of the affected countries with a close relative in the US, such as a spouse, parent, child or sibling, will potentially be allowed in.

In a last minute change, the Trump administration extended the definition of close family to include fiancés.

However grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces are not considered to be “bona fide” relations.

Moments before the ban began at 20:00 Washington time on June 29, it emerged that the state of Hawaii had asked a federal judge for clarification.

Hawaii’s attorney general has argued that the definition of “close family” is too narrow and may improperly prevent people from travelling to the US.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said it would be closely monitoring the guidance and implementation of the order.

The Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on the ban when its next session begins in October.

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The US has set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim countries and all refugees, requiring them to have a “close” family or business tie to the United States.

The new rules, affecting people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, come into force on June 29.

They were issued after the Supreme Court partially restored President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Donald Trump’s controversial executive order had been blocked by lower courts.

According to the new rules, for the next 90 days those without a close relationship – defined as a parent, spouse, child, son or daughter-in-law, or sibling – will not be able to enter the US.

The definition of “close” relationships excludes grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, extended family and grandchildren.

Also exempt from the new rules are those with business or educational ties to the US.

Image source Flickr

However, the guidelines specifically state that the relationship must be formal, documented and formed in ordinary course, rather than for the purpose of evading the executive order.

Trump’s New Travel Ban: Judge James Robart Declines to Issue Emergency Order to Halt Implementation

Those who already hold valid visas are not affected. Dual nationals who travel on their passport from the unaffected country will also be allowed entry.

The rules come into effect at 20:00 Washington time.

However, lawyers both for and against the ban have warned that the new restrictions – which will remain in place until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling – could open the door to a flood of legal challenges.

However, the Supreme Court will not be reviewing the case until October – which will mean the 90-day period will be largely done.

The court also approved the 120-day ban on refugees entering the US, allowing the government to bar entry to refugee claimants who do not have any “bona fide relationship” with an American individual or entity.

Trump Immigration Order: Justin Trudeau Does Not Agree with Refugee Ban

Donald Trump’s administration has put a cap on the number of refugees it is willing to accept at 50,000, which the State Department said would be reached in the next two weeks.

Rights groups have been fighting President Trump’s executive order for the last five months.

President Trump said the order was needed to stop terrorists entering the US, but critics said it was a ban on Muslims.

The order was first signed in February, but was blocked by the courts. A revised order was halted by a judge in Hawaii just hours before it was supposed to go into force in March.

President Donald Trump called the court’s decision a “victory for our national security.