Tag: Donald Trump

NATO says Syria to blame for US strikes after attack

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Syria is to blame for the United States missile strikes carried out after a deadly suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town earlier this week, North Atlantic Treaty Organization head Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. “The Syrian regime bears the full responsibility for this development,” Stoltenberg said in a statement. “Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, cannot go unanswered, and those responsible must be held accountable,” he added.

Russian military says Syrian air defenses to be “strengthened”

MOSCOW, Russia (Eagle News) — Russia’s military on Friday said the Syrian forces’ air defenses will be boosted following the United States’ strike on a regime air base ordered by US President Donald Trump. “To protect Syria’s most sensitive infrastructure, a complex of measures will be implemented in the near future to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the Syrian armed forces’ air defence system,” said spokesperson Igor Konashenkov.

US launches missile strike against Syria; 59 precision-guided missiles hit airfield

PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike against Syria on Thursday in retaliation for a chemical attack with a sarin-like nerve agent which Washington blames on President Bashar al-Assad. A White House official said 59 precision-guided missiles hit Shayrat Airfield in Syria, where the US believes Tuesday’s deadly attack was launched. The official had earlier given the number of missiles involved as 70. The missiles were blasted […]

Trump on Xi: ‘We’re going to have a very, very great relationship’

PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump struck a positive note as he sat down to dinner Thursday with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying the pair are going to have “a very, very, great relationship.” “We’ve had a long discussion already and so far I have gotten nothing, absolutely nothing, but we have developed a friendship, I can see that,” Trump told reporters as he, Xi and their wives prepared […]

China’s strongman Xi to meet his match in Trump

by Yanan Wang BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has spent the past four years putting brash, wealthy politicians and businessmen in jail. On Thursday he will have to sit down and negotiate with one. The first face-to-face meeting between Xi and Donald Trump at the United States president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida will be a key test of whether the two leaders can overcome their vast differences and develop a personal bond. […]

Japan PM Abe says he, Trump agree North Korea missile launch a ‘serious threat’

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday (April 6) that he and United States President Donald Trump agreed in a telephone call that North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch was “a dangerous provocation and a serious threat.” Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Wednesday (April 5), a day before the Trump-Xi summit, where North Korea’s increasingly defiant arms program was set to take […]

Trump strategist Bannon dropped from National Security Council

by Paul Handley WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, has lost his seat on the powerful National Security Council in a high-level White House shakeup. Trump’s elevation of Bannon to a permanent spot on the NSC had been widely criticized as injecting politics into White House deliberations on sensitive defense, foreign policy and intelligence matters. The move revealed Wednesday was seen as a setback for Bannon, the controversial former […]

Global stock markets edge higher ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Global stock markets moved tentatively higher on Tuesday, with a narrower United States trade deficit boosting Wall Street modestly ahead of a key US-China summit later this week, dealers said. European markets sloughed off earlier weakness caused by the Saint Petersburg metro attack Monday, which left 14 dead, dozens wounded and had initially sent investors rushing for haven investments like gold and the yen. US stocks also finished higher […]

Ferrari F430 once owned by President Donald Trump sells for $270K

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A 10-year-old bright red Ferrari that belonged to President Donald Trump went on the block Saturday and sold for $270,000, auctioneers said. “Similar versions of the model without the celebrity provenance traditionally bring between $125,000 – $175,000 depending on mileage, condition and optional equipment,” said Auctions America spokesperson Amy Christie. She did not name the buyer. Car lovers and Trump supporters had lined up to admire the 2007 F430 coupe […]

North Korea threatens to hit back over sanctions

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has warned it will retaliate if the global community ramps up sanctions over its latest round of weapons tests. The warning comes as President Donald Trump threatened the United States was prepared to go it alone in bringing Pyongyang to heel if China did not step in. The isolated state has quickened its missile program in recent months, with a volley of tests it says are putting it […]

Trump pledges ‘full support’ to Putin over Russia metro attack

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump spoke Monday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and pledged Washington’s “full support” for Moscow’s response to the deadly attack on the Saint Petersburg metro, the White House said. Trump expressed his condolences and condemned the attack, which killed 11 people and left dozens wounded. Russian authorities said they were probing an “act of terror.” “President Trump offered the full support of the (US) government in responding […]

In landmark meeting, Trump hails Sisi’s ‘fantastic job’ in Egypt

by Andrew BEATTY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump set human rights scandals aside to welcome Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the White House Monday, the first such visit from an Egyptian president in almost a decade. Greeting Sisi warmly in the Oval Office, Trump heaped praise on the former general’s leadership as he sought to mend ties strained by crackdowns, revolution and counter-revolution. “You have a great friend and ally in […]