Tag: Donald Trump

China’s Li in Australia trade talks amid Trump fears

CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Australia urged China Thursday to press ahead with economic reforms as Premier Li Keqiang began a trade-focused visit amid growing fears of a US slide towards protectionism. China is Australia’s largest trade partner and its economic importance has grown in the Donald Trump era after the US president ripped into Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a decorum-breaking phone call, fraying relations. Turnbull said he hoped China and Australia could sign […]

After Trump tweet, Pentagon chief explains NATO funding

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told lawmakers Wednesday that NATO does not track “past money owed,” days after President Donald Trump claimed Germany has shortchanged the alliance by massive amounts. “I cannot give you an accounting for past money owed, because that’s not the way we do that in NATO,” Mattis said at a Senate hearing in Washington. After meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House last […]

Trump will attend NATO summit in May: White House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House confirmed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump will take part in a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders in Brussels on May 25, the first since his election victory last year. “The President looks forward to meeting with his NATO counterparts to reaffirm our strong commitment to NATO, and to discuss issues critical to the alliance, especially allied responsibility-sharing and NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism,” […]

California lawmakers warn companies against working on Trump wall

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Three California lawmakers have introduced legislation that would penalize firms keen to take part in President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border. The legislation announced on Monday calls for California’s two public pension funds — the largest in the nation — to divest from companies involved in the construction of the controversial barrier. “Californians build bridges not walls,” Phil Ting, one of the […]

State media: North Korea says it is capable of any war with the US

PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea denounced United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s  warning against them during his Asia trip and said they are ready for war with the US. The North’s state-run television KRT on Tuesday (March 21) cited its foreign ministry spokesperson as saying North Korea has the will and capability to fully respond to any war which the US wants. Last week, Tillerson issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, […]

Trump daughter Ivanka now has office in White House

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka now has an office at the White House, although she will not be a government employee, an administration official told AFP Monday. Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, his eldest daughter, aged 35, has been seen often in the presidential mansion’s West Wing, the hub of United States executive power. On Friday, she attended a roundtable discussion at the White House with the US […]

Bill Gates again world’s richest man; Trump slips

by John BIERS Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once again topped the Forbes magazine list of the world’s more than 2,000 billionaires, while US President Donald Trump slipped more than 200 spots, the magazine said Monday. Gates, whose wealth is estimated at $86 billion, led the list for the fourth straight year, and has been ranked as the richest person in the world for 18 of the […]

FBI chief confirms probe of possible Russia links to Trump team

by Paul HANDLEY Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year’s presidential election and notably Moscow’s possible collusion with President Donald Trump’s campaign. He also rejected Trump’s claim that predecessor Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower in New York, saying both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department had no evidence to support such allegations. […]

NATO chief to visit US for first time since Trump was elected

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief Jens Stoltenberg headed for Washington on Monday for the first time since United States President Donald Trump was elected, holding talks with senior officials about defeating the Islamic State group, his office said. Stoltenberg will meet US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday, then meet foreign ministers from the coalition working to defeat the group, according to his office.

‘No evidence of collusion’ between Trump campaign, Russia: US lawmaker

by Stephanie GRIFFITH Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A congressional panel so far has found “no evidence” that Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, its chairman said Sunday, ahead of testimony by the head of the FBI on the US president’s potential Russia ties. Based on “everything I have up to this morning — no evidence of collusion,” by Trump’s team and Moscow, Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of […]

All eyes on FBI chief as Russia, wiretap claims swirl

  By Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey will be in the hot seat Monday facing lawmakers who accuse him of stonewalling Congress, as they demand answers about Donald Trump’s potential Russia ties and the president’s accusation of wiretapping by his predecessor. The two explosive issues have preoccupied Republicans and Democrats alike for weeks, robbing Trump’s administration of a smoother rollout and raising uncomfortable questions about possible collusion […]

Trump vows to fight revamped travel ban freeze

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to fight a federal court ruling halting his revised temporary ban of refugees and nationals from six Muslim-majority countries, describing the decision as “judicial overreach.” “The law in the constitution gave the president the power to suspend immigration when he deems it to be in the national interest of our country,” he said at a rally in Nashville, Tennessee, following the decision […]