Tag: Donald Trump

Dueling plans to end US shutdown fail in Senate, talks resume

by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse The US Senate on Thursday blocked dueling plans to reopen shuttered federal agencies, a fresh setback in efforts to end a month-long government shutdown, but President Donald Trump signaled he could back a new proposal if it includes border security. The legislative deadlock left Congress and the president red-faced and adrift as thousands of federal workers, some reliant on food banks to make ends meet, are about to miss […]

Pelosi scrapped Afghan trip after Trump ‘leaked’ details

  By Michael Mathes Agence France-Presse (AFP) — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday excoriated her political nemesis, President Donald Trump, for “outing” her commercial trip to Afghanistan after barring her from using a military aircraft, forcing her to scrap it entirely over security concerns. The brawl between the no-nonsense Republican leader and the take-no-prisoners Democrat — who is now just two heartbeats away from the presidency — is the latest round in their […]

Turkey to set up Syria ‘security zone’ after Trump call

by Fulya OZERKAN Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Ankara would set up a “security zone” in northern Syria suggested by US President Donald Trump. Erdogan’s comments came a day after he had a telephone conversation with Trump to ease tensions after the US leader threatened to “devastate” the Turkish economy if Ankara attacks Kurdish forces in Syria. Turkey has welcomed Washington’s planned withdrawal of some 2,000 US […]

Xi told Kim China hopes US, N. Korea ‘meet each other halfway’: Xinhua

by Laurent Thomet with Sunghee Hwang in Seoul Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un firm backing in deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States and reasserted Beijing’s key role in the wider process, according to the two allies’ state media Thursday. Kim visited Beijing by train this week for two days of talks with Xi seen as a strategy session ahead of a second […]

Trump appears to slow Syria troop pullout plan

by Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – President Donald Trump appeared to backtrack Monday on shock plans for an immediate pullout of US troops from Syria, but said his drive to end American involvement in wars made him a “hero.” The shift came a day after a senior Republican senator said Trump had promised to stay in Syria to finish the job of defeating the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. Trump […]

‘Hold fast’: Mattis bids farewell to Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis bade farewell to the Pentagon on Monday, telling the US military to “hold fast” after he quit over a series of fundamental differences with President Donald Trump. Mattis resigned December 20, after Trump stunned the US establishment by ordering a full troop withdrawal from Syria. “Our department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult,” Mattis said in a brief memo […]

Trump voices support for Indonesia after tsunami’s ‘unthinkable devastation’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Sunday offered a message of support after a volcano-triggered tsunami left 281 people dead and hundreds more injured in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait. “Unthinkable devastation from the tsunami disaster in Indonesia,” the Republican leader tweeted. “More than two hundred dead and nearly a thousand injured or unaccounted for. We are praying for recovery and healing. America is with you!” He joined the chorus of world leaders […]

Publisher who suppressed story of Trump affair given immunity

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they have granted immunity to a publisher who paid $150,000 to a Playboy model to prevent her from going public with her claim to have had an affair with Donald Trump. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said it had reached a “non-prosecution agreement” with American Media Inc (AMI), publisher of the tabloid the National Enquirer. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael […]

Trump ‘tantrum’ threatens US government shutdown

by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An angry Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White House on Tuesday that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico border wall. The president and top opposition congressional leaders had been meant to hold a reassuring Oval Office photo-op. Instead, their blazing row in front of the world’s media […]

Trump pays respects as president Bush lies in state in US Capitol

by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania paid their respects Monday to late president George H.W. Bush, whose remains lay in state in the US Capitol. The Trumps made a brief visit to the Capitol rotunda, where Bush’s flag-draped coffin was resting as part of tributes to honor the 41st US president and commemorate his extraordinary life. Bush died peacefully Friday at age 94, […]

Trump to grant Kim Jong Un’s wishes after denuclearisation: S. Korea president

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — US President Donald Trump will grant North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un his wishes if he delivers on denuclearisation, the South Korean president said Sunday, following talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit. As officials work to arrange a second meeting between Trump and Kim, South Korea’s Moon Jae-in relayed a message to reporters given to him by the US president to pass on to the North’s leader. “And […]

Saudi prince in Argentina as G20 summit tensions brew

by Denis BARNETT Agence France Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — World leaders began arriving in Argentina Wednesday ahead of a G20 summit dogged by increasingly strident warnings about the impact on the world economy of threatened US trade tariffs. US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is a dominant theme at the weekend summit but one sideshow is how leaders deal with the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The de […]