WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump is set to approve the release of an explosive memo alleging abuse of power in the FBI’s probe of his election campaign, a White House official said Thursday. Rejecting entreaties from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation to block the document on the grounds it could expose top secret counterintelligence data, the official told AFP the president’s green light would likely come on Friday. “The president is […]
Tag: TRUMP
North Korea slams US as ‘gross violator of human rights’
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has denounced US President Donald Trump’s administration as a “gross violator of human rights,” its state media reported Wednesday. The official Korean Central News Agency released its English-language report on Pyongyang’s annual white paper on US human rights violations as Trump began his State of the Union speech, in which he condemned the North. North Korea’s human rights record is heavily criticized by both the United States and […]
Erdogan vows no let-up in Syria campaign as US tensions rise
by Fulya Ozerkan with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara © Agence France-Presse ANTAKYA, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed Turkey’s campaign against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria would press on for as long as required, after telephone talks with Donald Trump failed to douse soaring tensions with Washington. The six-day campaign against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) has seen Washington’s fellow NATO member Ankara attacking a US-allied force, even raising fears […]
US federal employees to return after lawmakers end government shutdown
by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US federal workers prepared to return to work Tuesday after Congress ended a three-day government shutdown, with President Donald Trump claiming victory in his standoff with Democrats. The House voted 266 to 150 to extend federal funding for another three weeks, hours after Senate Democrats dropped their opposition to the plan after winning Republican assurances of a vote on immigration in the coming […]
URGENT: US government in shutdown as midnight deadline passes
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government officially shut down on Saturday, the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, after lawmakers failed to agree a stop-gap spending deal. Republicans and Democrats traded blame for the crisis, which came to a head when the Senate failed to agree to bring forward a motion to fund federal spending and the military from midnight. Senators were still negotiating on the Senate floor as the clock […]
Trump tells Xi US trade deficit with China ‘not sustainable’: W.House
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump told Chinese leader Xi Jinping he was disappointed about Washington’s deepening trade deficit with Beijing, calling the situation “not sustainable,” the White House said Tuesday. In telephone talks, Trump “expressed disappointment that the United States’ trade deficit with China has continued to grow,” the White House said in a statement. “President Trump made clear that the situation is not sustainable.” According to figures published Friday by […]
Trump’s doctor says president ‘healthy,’ has no cognitive issues
by Jerome Cartillier Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump is expected to remain physically fit for the duration of his presidency and has “no cognitive issues whatsoever,” according to full results from his first medical examination released Tuesday. Trump’s critics have openly questioned his mental health, and an explosive book on his presidency published earlier this month described aides as having doubts about his fitness for office. “All data indicates the president is healthy […]
Trump decision looms over Iran deal as Europe watches
by Dave Clark with Damon Wake in Brussels Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump met his national security team Thursday to decide whether to put the 2015 Iran nuclear deal at risk by re-imposing American sanctions. European leaders queued to beg Trump to renew the sanctions relief that Washington agreed to in the accord, which Trump has denounced as one of the worst of all time. US officials expect […]
Trump, Moon signal openness for talks with N. Korea
by Thomas Watkins with Hwang Sunghee in Seoul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump is open to the US holding talks with North Korea “under the right circumstances,” the White House said Wednesday after South Korean President Moon Jae-In signaled a willingness to sit down with Kim Jong-Un. Signs of a potential cooling following months of red-hot tensions on the Korean Peninsula came the day after North Korea reached a […]
Trump on Oprah: She won’t run in 2020 but I’d win anyway
by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump weighed in Tuesday on fevered speculation about a potential 2020 White House bid by Oprah Winfrey, saying she probably would not run against him, but if she did, he would win. “I’ll beat Oprah,” Trump said of the Oscar-nominated actress and talk show host. “I like Oprah,” he said, noting that he had appeared on her long-running afternoon program. “I […]
Bannon backs away from his published criticism of Trump’s son
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, a target of White House wrath over an explosive new book that paints a harsh picture of the president, issued a statement Sunday expressing “regret” and underscoring his “unwavering” support for Trump. But Bannon’s statement to the Axios news website — a response to the book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff, who quotes Bannon extensively — did not specifically deny any of his […]
Trump says he is willing to talk with North Korean leader
by Saul Loeb Agence France Presse CAMP DAVID, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would be willing to speak directly with Kim Jong-Un, voicing hope that rare talks between North and South Korea could help deescalate the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear drive. Trump’s remarks were a further pivot from his often-bellicose rhetoric on North Korea and Kim, with whom he has engaged in a war of words that raised […]





