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LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has re-tweeted anti-Islam videos originally posted by Jayda Fransen, a leader of a far-right British party convicted earlier in November of abusing a Muslim woman. Fransen is deputy leader of the anti-immigrant Britain First group. Here are some details about her organization: Britain First was founded in 2011 by leader Paul Golding with a membership of three individuals. It describes itself as a patriotic political party and street movement , although critics denounce it as a far-right, racist organization. Britain First is committed to preserving our ancestral ethnic and cultural heritage, traditions, customs and values, it says on its website. It wants to deport all illegal immigrants, halt all further immigration, and introduce a comprehensive ban on the religion of Islam with headscarves being outlawed in public. Anyone found to be promoting the ideology of Islam will be subject to deportation or imprisonment, its policy platform states. It holds protests across the country, usually attended by a couple of hundred supporters at most, many of whom hold white crosses because the group argues Christianity in Britain is being threatened by immigration and the growth of militant Islam. Golding was a former senior figure in the far-right British National Party and was elected a local councillor in 2009. In his biography on the group s website it says he was sent to prison in 2016 for confronting a Muslim hate preacher who was secretly recorded saying it s okay for Muslims to keep sex slaves . Golding stood for election as London mayor in May 2016, winning 31,372 votes, 1.2 percent of all cast. Fransen, who was elected deputy leader in 2014, was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment in November 2017, and both she and Golding are facing further similar charges. The group gained prominence in June 2016 when Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead on the street by a Nazi-obsessed loner who witnesses said had been shouting Britain first during the attack. Fransen told Reuters the killer had nothing to do with her group.

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((Refiles December 15 story to clarify areas of control in Shabwa, Marib in paragraph 3)) ADEN (Reuters) - The Yemeni army and allied fighters on Friday drove Houthi militants from a town that was one of the last positions they held in the country s south, military sources and local officials said. The forces advanced into Bayhan, about 300 km (190 miles) southeast of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, killing dozens of the militants in clashes, the sources said. Bayhan is important in Yemen s war because it is located on a major road linking Shabwa province with Marib province, part of which is held by the Houthis, to the north. The army s advance means that the Houthis have been expelled from most of Shabwa, sources said. Yemen s more than two-year-old war pits the Iran-allied Houthis, who control Sanaa, against a Saudi-led military alliance that backs the government now based in the southern port of Aden. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered a humanitarian crisis. The government-run Sabanew agency said the remaining Houthis had fled after battles for strategic positions in the Bayhan area which had left hundreds of them dead and wounded. The agency said the army also seized other positions in the area, where the movement of heavy artillery had been difficult because of sand dunes. This month the Saudi-led coalition, which is backed by U.S. and British weapons and intelligence, intensified air strikes after the Houthis killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh when he switched sides in the civil war. There has been relatively little change in positions on the ground around the capital.

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SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A coalition of Chilean leftist parties on Thursday challenged presidential contender Alejandro Guillier to clarify his social and economic policies, withholding the outright endorsement sought by the center-left candidate. Beatriz Sanchez, the flagbearer for the hard-left Frente Amplio coalition, also criticized conservative ex-president Sebastian Pinera, the frontrunner, and called him a step back for the country, in a statement issued after a party meeting. Pinera and Guillier will face off in a Dec. 17 runoff vote after placing first and second respectively in the first round of the election on Nov. 19. Sanchez, who campaigned on a promise to tax mining companies and the super-rich in order to boost social spending, finished just two percentage points behind Guillier. Her stronger-than-anticipated performance spooked markets and ensured the bloc will have influence, both in Congress and over campaigning for the second round. We are not the owners of anyone s vote, so we call on our supporters to make their voices heard in this second round, and to vote according to their own convictions and analysis, Sanchez said on national television. She challenged Guillier to clarify his positions on her bloc s priorities, including overhauling the country s highly privatized pension system, forgiving the student loans of university graduates and re-writing Chile s dictatorship-era constitution. This isn t about negotiating with us. It s about negotiating with those who overwhelmingly support these changes in our society, she said. Guillier did not immediately respond to the demands of the Frente Amplio. But winning over Sanchez s 1.3 million voters is seen by Guillier s camp as essential in triumphing over Pinera. Guillier said at a campaign event on Monday that he would need everyone s support to advance. He has offered to forgive the debt of 40 percent of the country s poorest university students and said he remained open to rewriting Chile s constitution, both policies intended to appeal to leftist voters. But Guillier must walk a fine line, as a too-sharp turn to the left could push more moderate voters - historically a large and potent voting bloc in Chile - to Pinera. Both candidates would keep in place the top copper exporter s longstanding free-market economic model, but Pinera has promised investor-friendly policies to turbocharge growth, while Guillier wants to press on with outgoing President Michelle Bachelet s overhaul of education, taxes and labor laws.

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(Reuters) - U.S. representatives Jason Chaffetz and Elijah Cummings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to Mylan NV Chief Executive Heather Bresch on Monday asking for documents and communications related to the fast-increasing price of allergy auto-injector EpiPens. Mylan said earlier it would launch the first generic version of EpiPen for $300, half the price of the branded product, in the drugmaker’s second step in less than a week to counter a backlash over the product’s steep price. Chaffetz and Cummings, the committee’s chairman and ranking member respectively, requested documents related to Mylan’s revenue from sales of EpiPens since 2007, manufacturing costs and the amount the company receives from federal health care programs. 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday put pressure on Congress to increase the government’s debt limit by arguing that relief funding for hurricane-ravaged areas of Texas might be delayed if lawmakers do not act quickly. “Without raising the debt limit, I am not comfortable that we will get money to Texas this month to rebuild,” Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump has requested nearly $8 billion for initial relief for areas hit by Hurricane Harvey. The United States is on track to hit its mandated debt limit by the end of the month unless Congress moves to increase it. Senator Roy Blunt, a junior member of the Senate’s Republican leadership, said it was possible lawmakers could tie legislation raising the U.S. debt ceiling - an unpopular step among some Republican conservatives - to legislation providing financial aid for recovery from Harvey. “That’s one way to do it,” Blunt said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Congressional leaders would have to look at whether the votes are there, he said. Congress returns this week from a month-long vacation, and one of the first measures it is expected to consider is the $7.85 billion Trump has requested so far for Harvey aid. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday estimated damage from Hurricane Harvey at $150 billion to $180 billion, calling it more costly than epic storms Katrina or Sandy and fueling the debate over how to pay for the disaster. The U.S. government has a statutory limit on how much money it can borrow to cover the budget deficit that results from Washington spending more than it collects in taxes. Only Congress can raise that limit, and financial firms have been worried that Congress may fail to reach a deal to do so. Some conservatives want to link spending reforms to a debt ceiling hike. Democrats said there should be bipartisan talks on how to handle the debt ceiling and government spending bills. “Providing aid in the wake of Harvey and raising the debt ceiling are both important issues, and Democrats want to work to do both. Given the interplay between all the issues Congress must tackle in September, Democrats and Republicans must discuss all the issues together and come up with a bipartisan consensus,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement. Blunt, on NBC, said Hurricane Harvey has created “another reason as to why you’d want to keep the government open” by passing legislation to fund the government this month.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate narrowly approved a tax overhaul on Saturday, moving Republicans and President Donald Trump a big step closer to their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes. In what would be the largest change to U.S. tax laws since the 1980s, Republicans want to add $1.4 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy. Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House for New York hours after the pre-dawn vote, praised the Senate for passing “tremendous tax reform” and said “people are going to be very, very happy”. Once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation, he said, the resulting bill could cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent “to 20 (percent). It could be 22 (percent) when it comes out. It could also be 20 (percent).” U.S. stock markets have rallied for months on hopes that Washington would provide significant tax cuts for corporations. Celebrating their Senate victory, Republican leaders predicted the tax cuts would encourage U.S. companies to invest more and boost economic growth. “We have an opportunity now to make America more competitive, to keep jobs from being shipped offshore and to provide substantial relief to the middle class,” said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. The Senate approved their bill in a 51-49 vote, with Democrats complaining that last-minute amendments to win over skeptical Republicans were poorly drafted and vulnerable to being gamed later. “The Republicans have managed to take a bad bill and make it worse,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “Under the cover of darkness and with the aid of haste, a flurry of last-minute changes will stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations.” No Democrats voted for the bill, but they were unable to block it because Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. Talks will begin, likely next week, between the Senate and the House, which already has approved its own version of the legislation, to reconcile their respective bills. Trump, who predicted that the negotiations would produce “something beautiful,” wants that to happen before the end of the year. This would allow him and his Republicans to score their first major legislative achievement of 2017 after having controlled the White House, the Senate and the House since he took office in January. Republicans failed in their efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law over the summer and Trump’s presidency has been hit by White House in-fighting and a federal investigation into possible collusion last year between his election campaign team and Russian officials. The tax overhaul is seen by Trump and Republicans as crucial to their prospects at mid-term elections in November 2018, when they will have to defend their majorities in Congress. In a legislative battle that moved so fast a final draft of the bill was unavailable to the public until just hours before the vote, Democrats slammed the proposed tax cuts as a give-away to businesses and the rich financed with billions of dollars in taxpayer debt. The framework for both the Senate and House bills was developed in secret over a few months by a half-dozen Republican congressional leaders and Trump advisers, with little input from the party’s rank-and-file and none from Democrats. Six Republican senators, who wanted and got last-minute amendments and whose votes had been in doubt, said on Friday they would back the bill and did so. Senator Bob Corker, one of few remaining Republican fiscal hawks who pledged early on to oppose any bill that expanded the federal deficit, was the lone Republican dissenter. “I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that ... could deepen the debt burden on future generations,” said Corker, who is not running for re-election. Numerous last-minute changes were made to the bill on Friday and in the early morning hours of Saturday. One was to make state and local property tax deductible up to $10,000, mirroring the House bill. The Senate previously had proposed entirely ending state and local tax deductibility. “The tax reform measure that passed the Senate is negative overall for state and local government finances. Lower federal tax rates for businesses and individuals could result in a modest boost to hiring and consumption, positively affecting state and local revenues,” Nick Samuels, Vice President at Moody’s Investors Service, said in a statement. “However, the change to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction would reduce disposable income for many taxpayers, likely outweighing the positive effect of lower federal rates on consumption in many communities and states.” In another change, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), both for individuals and corporations, would not be repealed in full. Instead, the individual AMT would be adjusted and the corporate AMT would be maintained as is, lobbyists said. Another change would put a five-year limit on letting businesses immediately write off the full value of new capital investments. That would phase out over four years starting in year six, rather than be permanent as initially proposed. Under the bill, the corporate tax rate would be permanently slashed to 20 percent from 35 percent, while future foreign profits of U.S.-based firms would be largely exempt, both changes pursued by corporate lobbyists for years. On the individual side, the top tax rate paid by the highest-income earners would be cut slightly. The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, analyzed an earlier but broadly similar version of the bill passed by the Senate tax committee on Nov. 16 and found it would reduce taxes for all income groups in 2019 and 2025, with the largest average tax cuts going to the highest-income Americans. Two Republican senators announced their support for the bill on Friday after winning more tax relief for non-corporate pass-through businesses. These include partnerships and other companies not organized as public corporations, ranging from mom-and-pop concerns to large financial and real estate groups. The bill now features a 23 percent tax deduction for such business owners, up from the original 17.4 percent. The Senate bill would gut a section of Obamacare by repealing a fee paid by some Americans who do not buy health insurance, a step critics said would undermine the Obamacare system and raise insurance premiums for the sick and the old. Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, said she obtained commitments from Republican leaders that steps would be taken later in separate legislation to minimize the impact of the repeal of the “individual mandate” fee.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Monday commented on U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba, saying it was in Russia’s interests for Havana, its long-time ally, to have good relations with the United States. “Decades of friendly partner-like relations link Russia and Cuba,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a teleconference with reporters. “We are interested in Cuba, which is friendly to us, maintaining good relations with all its neighbors and above all with the United States.” Obama arrived to small but cheering crowds on Sunday at the start of a historic visit to Cuba that opened a new chapter in U.S. engagement with the island’s Communist government after decades of hostility between the former Cold War foes.

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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on Friday he believes the North could consider a hydrogen bomb test on the Pacific Ocean of an unprecedented scale, South Korea s Yonhap news agency reported. Ri was speaking to reporters in New York when he was asked what North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had meant when he threatened in an earlier statement the highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history against the United States. North Korea could consider a hydrogen bomb test, Ri said, although he did not know Kim s exact thoughts, Yonhap reported.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior White House adviser said on Thursday Congress would need to end Obamacare mandates and taxes as part of a proposed short-term deal to stabilize health insurance markets in order for President Donald Trump to sign on. “The gist is we believe that the individual mandate should (be) repealed, employer mandate repealed and allow Americans to contribute to health savings accounts,” White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told CNN. “If we really want to reduce prices than we need to begin repealing the (Obamacare) mandates and repealing the taxes, and then we could have a deal,” Short said. He said the administration was sending a list of the principles it would like to see in any legislation to the bill’s co-authors and would likely make them public.

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SAN JUAN (Reuters) - The economically struggling U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favor of becoming the 51st state, although turnout was low and adding another star to the U.S. flag likely faces an uphill battle in Congress. A government website for the non-binding referendum, Puerto Rico’s fifth such plebiscite since 1967, showed 97 percent supported statehood. Only 23 percent of the 2.2 million eligible voters participated in the vote. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned for statehood as the best avenue to boost future growth for the island, which has $70 billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, woefully underperforming schools and near-insolvent pension and health systems. “From today going forward, the Federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico,” Rossello said in a statement. “It would be highly contradictory for Washington to demand democracy in other parts of the world, and NOT respond to the legitimate right to self-determination that was exercised today in the American territory of Puerto Rico,” he added. Puerto Rico’s hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. “I voted for statehood,” Armando Abreu, a 74-year-old retiree, said after voting. “Even if it’s still a long way off in the distance, it’s our only hope.” Those in favor of statehood for the mainly Spanish-speaking Caribbean island hope the new status would put the territory on equal standing with the 50 U.S. states, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for U.S. president. Under the current system, Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote in presidential elections or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like the Medicaid health insurance system for the poor. The U.S. government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense and trade. Rossello will ask Congress to respect the result, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington. The island’s two main opposition parties boycotted the vote, which gave Puerto Ricans three options: becoming a U.S. state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States. Puerto Rico’s former governor, Rafael Hernandez Colon, said in a statement: “A contrived plebiscite fabricated an artificial majority for statehood by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth supporters.” Rather than heading to the polls, some 500 Puerto Ricans marched on the streets of San Juan, waving Puerto Rico’s flag and burning the American flag while chanting in support of independence. “This is a bogus plebiscite. Our future is independence. We need to be able to decide our own fate,” said Liliana Laboy, one of the organizers of the protest. Boycotters were also angry about the costly referendum at a time when over 400 schools have closed and many Puerto Ricans are struggling to make ends meet. Schools where voting took place were in poor condition, with cracked paint and bare-bones playgrounds. Puerto Rico spent an estimated $8 million on the campaign and election process, according to a government spokesman.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Friday he would not vote for either the party’s presumptive nominee Donald Trump or the Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the November election. “In November, I will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but I will support principled conservatives at the state and federal levels, just as I have done my entire life,” Bush, a former Florida governor, said in a Facebook post.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the Trump administration’s trade agenda focused on reining in China and renegotiating the North American Free Trade agreement, Africa has barely appeared on the radar screen. That could change this week as President Donald Trump’s top trade negotiator and other senior U.S. officials head to the West African nation of Togo to review a Clinton-era free trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa, in the administration’s first high-level delegation to visit the region. Looming over the two-day ministerial is China’s growing role in African trade and influence, as Beijing finances massive infrastructure projects in the region, some through its new Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank. While U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa as a whole have doubled to $21.81 billion from $10.96 billion in 2000, according to U.S. Commerce Department data, they were dwarfed by China’s $102 billion in exports to the region in 2015. Also at issue is whether the Trump officials, led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, will signal a desire to change the trade agreement before it expires in 2025. Trump has sought to bolster his “America First” campaign by withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership, threatening to rip up NAFTA and seeking to renegotiate the U.S.-South Korea free trade deal. Launched in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been barely mentioned by any Trump officials. But no moves toward an early renewal or extension of AGOA are expected, said Constance Hamilton, deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa. Lighthizer will stress the importance to the administration of deepening its trade relationship with Africa, but will also caution that African countries should “engage in fair trade, eliminate barriers to U.S. exports and abide by the eligibility criteria of the AGOA program,” said Hamilton. The U.S. trade deficit with the 38 AGOA countries shrank to about $7.9 billion last year from a peak of $64 billion in 2008, as U.S. shale oil production increases have lessened the need for oil imports from major exporters Nigeria and Angola. Overshadowing the talks will be an “out-of-cycle” review of AGOA trade benefits to Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, which have supported a phased ban on imports of second-hand clothing. U.S. groups say the move violates AGOA rules. “The fact that we accepted the petition under the Trump administration, I won’t say that means we’re any harder on any countries, it just says we respect the criteria,” said Hamilton, who emphasized that the issue was still under review by USTR. The administration has paid little attention to developing a U.S.-Africa policy, said Kim Elliot, a trade expert at the Washington-based Center for Global Development. “This administration has just shown almost zero interest in Africa,” said Elliot. “It has not been a big focus, there is no sign at all that it has engaged the president’s interest.” Scott Eisner, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Africa Business Center, said African countries should look at reforms to attract more foreign investment. AGOA, in its current form, will likely become irrelevant for a number of markets by 2025, he said. “Those governments that want to continue to count on the U.S. market need to be prepared to come to the table to have bi-lateral or regional trade talks - whether they are called a free trade agreement or something different,” Eisner said. Peter Barlerin, a senior State Department official, said African nations need to start thinking about what comes after AGOA. “We’re not going to see AGOA stretching out to infinity, so eventually we will move into some other kind of arrangement, and that could include bilateral or larger free trade agreements with parts of Africa,” he said.

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TAIPEI (Reuters) - China s air force has carried out 16 rounds of exercises close to Taiwan in the last year or so, Taiwan s defense ministry said on Tuesday, warning that China s military threat was growing by the day. China considers self-ruled and democratic Taiwan to be its sacred territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring what it views as a wayward province under Chinese control. China has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards Taiwan since Tsai Ing-wen from the island s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won presidential elections last year. Beijing suspects her of pushing for the island s formal independence, a red line for China. Tsai says she wants peace with China, but that she will defend Taiwan s security and way of life. In a lengthy report, Taiwan s defense ministry listed the number of times China s air force had drilled near the island since the end of October last year and which aircraft were involved, including bombers and advanced fighter jets. Of the 16 drills, 15 of them were around Taiwan, flying through the Bashi Channel which separates Taiwan from the Philippines and near Japan s Miyako island, to the north of Taiwan. The other drill was through the Bashi Channel and out into the Pacific. China has repeatedly said the drills are routine. Taiwan s defense ministry said China was the island s biggest security threat. The Chinese military s strength continues to grow rapidly, it said. There have been massive developments in military reforms, combined operations, weapons development and production, the building of overseas military bases and military exercises, and the military threat towards us grows daily. Chinese missiles can already cover all of Taiwan, and China has been improving its abilities in long-range anti-ship missiles to build an ability to resist foreign forces , the ministry added. Tensions rose earlier this month after a senior Chinese diplomat threatened that China would invade Taiwan if any U.S. warships made port visits there. Taiwan is well equipped with mostly U.S.-made weapons, but has been pressing Washington to sell more advanced equipment. The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, to China s distaste. Proudly democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in being run by autocratic China, and Taiwan s government has accused Beijing of not understanding what democracy is all about when it criticizes Taipei.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration and top Republicans in U.S. Congress are within a few weeks of agreeing on central aspects of a tax overhaul plan that will determine the contours of legislation now expected in September, an administration official told Reuters this week. Under pressure from business groups and rank-and-file Republicans, Trump officials and congressional leaders still need to decide how much to slash tax rates and if the package should increase the federal budget deficit, administration and congressional sources said. The future of a border adjustment tax, or BAT, proposal from House of Representatives Republicans, meant to boost exports and discourage imports, could also be decided within the next two to three weeks, the administration official said. President Donald Trump has pledged to make a tax overhaul a priority. But after 20 weeks in power and numerous distractions, he has yet to offer a tax bill to Congress. Expectations for legislation have slipped repeatedly, from spring to summer and now after the U.S. Labor Day holiday. Still, stocks are up since Trump’s November election win and companies and wealthy Americans are positioning themselves to realize more income in 2018, betting lower taxes are coming. The head of the House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of three-dozen conservatives capable of stalling legislation, on Friday called on Republicans to acknowledge a lack of consensus on the BAT and produce a tax proposal by the end of July. Trump and fellow Republicans pledged in the election campaign last year to tackle in 2017 the biggest tax overhaul since the Reagan era. But that agenda has been slowed by infighting over dismantling Obamacare and probes of possible ties between Trump’s campaign and alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The Business Roundtable, a powerful lobbying group that represents chief executives, wrote to Trump and congressional leaders this week calling for a “shift from listening to action” on tax reform. The administration official, who asked not to be named, said there is broad agreement among participants in the talks on the need to cut taxes, simplify the code, eliminate tax breaks, end taxation of U.S. corporate overseas profits and repatriate an estimated $2.6 trillion in corporate profits held overseas. But key details remain open to question. More meetings are expected among U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and their staff, the official said. After their third meeting on Tuesday, officials had not decided whether to adopt full expensing for corporations, the administration official said. The policy would allow companies to write off the cost of capital investments such as equipment immediately and plow the money back into their businesses. The official said the aim of the talks is to agree on a framework by mid-year and release legislation soon after lawmakers’ long August recess. A key decision awaits the House Republicans’ export-boosting BAT, intended to help pay for reforms while dissuading companies from moving assets, profits and jobs abroad. The BAT, which would tax imports but exempt export revenues from taxation, has run afoul of many Republicans and drawn criticism from the administration. Officials in Congress and the administration are examining options to the BAT that could reduce erosion of the federal tax base, including rules and a minimum corporate tax. Decisions on BAT, revenue neutrality and expensing will help decide if Congress can cut the corporate income tax to 15 percent, as Trump seeks, or 20-25 percent as envisioned by the House Republicans’ tax plan.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s spokesman on Thursday rejected media reports that said the Republican president-elect was planning to restructure the nation’s intelligence agencies, calling the reports “100 percent false.” “There is no truth to this idea of restructuring the intelligence community infrastructure,” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters in a conference call. “All transition activities are for information gathering purposes and all discussions are tentative.”

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mike Huckabee suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday night, the former Arkansas governor announced on Twitter after garnering little support in the Iowa caucuses. “I am officially suspending my campaign,” he said on Twitter. “Thank you for all your loyal support.” Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, had less than 2 percent of the vote on Monday with 85 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Iowa Republican Party.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman who has said that U.S. President Donald Trump groped her during a 2007 meeting has subpoenaed his presidential campaign for any documents concerning similar allegations, according to a subpoena filed in New York State Supreme Court. Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice,” sought all documents from his campaign pertaining to “any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately,” identifying nine by name, the subpoena said. Trump has denied Zervos’ accusation in the past. On Monday, asked about the subpoena at an impromptu White House news conference, Trump called it “totally fake news.” “It’s just fake. It’s fake. It’s made-up stuff, and it’s disgraceful, what happens, but that happens in the - that happens in the world of politics,” he said. The Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on the subpoena. Last October, shortly before the Nov. 8 presidential election, Zervos held a news conference to say that Trump kissed her, touched her breast and tried to get her to lie down on a bed with him during a meeting about a possible job. The accusation came a week after a 2005 video emerged showing the Republican candidate bragging about groping and making unwanted sexual advances. While Trump said at the time the video was just talk and he had never behaved in that way, several women subsequently went public with allegations of sexual misconduct against the New York real estate magnate going back three decades. Trump denied all the allegations. Zervos sued Trump for defamation in New York State Supreme Court after he denied her account of their meeting and accused her and other women of lying. The subpoena, part of that lawsuit, was served in March and entered into the court file in September. Trump’s lawyers agreed to preserve the pertinent documents, but they are also trying to have the lawsuit dismissed or delayed. “We served it simply to make sure that the documents get preserved,” Mariann Wang, one of Zervos’ lawyers, said in a phone interview on Monday. BuzzFeed website first reported on the subpoena late on Sunday.

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The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad! [0619 EDT] - Remember, when you hear the words “sources say” from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist. [0632 EDT] - ISIS is on the run & will soon be wiped out of Syria & Iraq, illegal border crossings are way down (75%) & MS 13 gangs are being removed. [0805 EDT] - @WashTimes states “Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump.” [0812 EDT] - Why aren’t the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful! [0927 EDT] - The W.H. is functioning perfectly, focused on HealthCare, Tax Cuts/Reform & many other things. I have very little time for watching T.V. [0939 EDT] - "After 14 years, U.S. beef hits Chinese market. Trade deal an exciting opportunity for agriculture." bit.ly/2uiXGI2 [1620 EDT] - Getting rdy to leave for France @ the invitation of President Macron to celebrate & honor Bastille Day and 100yrs since U.S. entry into WWI. [1835 EDT] - Stock market hits another high with spirit and enthusiasm so positive. Jobs outlook looking very good! #MAGA [1906 EDT] - JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! #MAGA bit.ly/2ugaYbl [1912 EDT] - Big WIN today for building the wall. It will secure the border & save lives. Now the full House & Senate must act 45.wh.gov/5L8g1q [1924 EDT] - The 3 bills passed today by the House are important steps forward to end the horrific crime of human trafficking: 45.wh.gov/GKbrVi [1733 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya s main opposition leader said on Thursday that anger over last month s presidential election ran so deep it threatened to tear the country apart. Raila Odinga boycotted the Oct. 25 election because he said it would be unfair, leaving President Uhuru Kenyatta to win with 98 percent of the vote. The Supreme Court called the poll after it annulled a first presidential election held in August on procedural grounds. Mainstream Kenyans feel so deeply cheated they are openly toying with the idea of secession, Odinga told an audience in Washington, D.C. His speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank, was broadcast live on Kenyan television. The biggest problem in Kenya right now is exclusion ... unless they (the problems) are addressed they will tear the country apart, he said. As things stand now, anger and radicalization is growing by the day. A small number of politicians in Odinga s opposition alliance have discussed the idea of his strongholds seceding from Kenya but the idea has not gained wide popularity. Odinga s supporter base is concentrated along Kenya s coast, in city slums and in his western strongholds, areas that have traditionally felt excluded from political power and the opportunities for patronage it offers. Odinga s supporters are currently boycotting three companies they say are backing the government. The opposition has called for protests on Friday. In his speech, Odinga noted Kenya s four presidents since independence had all come from the Kikuyu or Kalenjin communities, even though the country had 44 recognized ethnic groups. Kenyatta is a Kikuyu and his deputy, who has made clear his intention to run in the next election, is a Kalenjin. Earlier this week, Odinga told Reuters he wanted a caretaker government for six months while preparations were made for new elections. Government officials reject the idea, saying Odinga had his chance to compete in October. The Supreme Court is due to start hearing petitions on the legality of the October elections next week.

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew on Tuesday from a court-ordered re-run of the presidential election due on Oct. 26, saying the vote would not be free or fair and leaving President Uhuru Kenyatta as the only candidate. Kenyatta said the election would proceed as planned, promising to get more votes than he did in August and saying his party had no time for empty rhetoric and divisive politics . The election board said on Twitter it was meeting and would communicate the way forward. But the announcements could further prolong nearly three months of political uncertainty that has worried citizens and blunted growth in Kenya, East Africa s biggest economy and a staunch Western ally in a region roiled by conflict. An ally of Odinga called for nationwide protests from Wednesday, raising the prospect of more clashes between police and demonstrators. For now though there was little sign that the demonstrations could boil over into ethnic clashes. Protests and ethnic violence killed 1,200 people after a disputed 2007 election. In his announcement, Odinga repeated previous criticism of the election board, called the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), for not replacing some officials, who he blamed for irregularities in the Aug. 8 poll. On Sept. 1, the Supreme Court nullified incumbent Kenyatta s win due to procedural irregularities and ordered a new election between Kenyatta against Odinga to be held within 60 days. There is no intention on the part of the IEBC to undertake any changes to its operations and parts of the personnel to ensure that the illegalities and irregularities that led to the invalidation of 8th of August do not happen again, Odinga told a news conference in the capital of Nairobi. Indications are that elections scheduled for the 26th of October will be worse than the previous one, he said. In the interest of the people of Kenya, the region and world at large, we believe that all will be best served by (opposition alliance) NASA vacating the presidential candidature of elections. Since the Supreme Court ruling, police have repeatedly used teargas to disperse small protests by the opposition demanding the election board change some officials. Senator James Orengo, a key Odinga ally, called for countrywide protests after Odinga spoke. Tomorrow all over the country there are going to be demonstrations the basis will be no reforms, no elections, Orengo said. Kenyatta told a political rally the election would proceed as planned and he was sure he would win again, citing the majority that his party won in both houses of parliament and among the country s 47 governors. We have no problem going back to elections. We are sure we will get more votes than the last time, Kenyatta said in the southern town of Voi, speaking in Kiswahili in a speech carried on local television. Among a series of comments later on Twitter, he said: We don t have time for empty rhetoric and divisive politics. Our agenda is to fulfill our promises to the Kenyan people. Murithi Mutiga, a senior Horn of Africa analyst for the global thinktank International Crisis Group, said the country looked headed for a protracted political stand-off that could rapidly escalate if there was a miscalculation by either side. The economy has already been battered by months and months of endless electioneering and now we see a protracted stalemate. Kenyatta will try everything to make sure the election goes ahead and Odinga might go back to the Supreme Court, he said. The political elites have really squandered the opportunity to consolidate the countries democracy ... both sides will inevitably try to assert themselves, including on the streets. We may see clashes between protesters and police. It looks grim. On Monday, a Kenyan rights group said 37 people had been killed during protests immediately after the Aug. 8 election. Almost all of them had been killed by the police. On Tuesday, legislators from the ruling party were debating proposed amendments to the election laws, which said if a candidate boycotted an election, the remaining candidate automatically wins. Opposition legislators boycotted the session. The draft amendments require another reading and a presidential signature before they become law. Ruling party legislators told Reuters on Monday that the amendments were designed to head off a constitutional crisis if Odinga pulled out of the election. The uncertainty, combined with a regional drought and a slowdown in private sector credit, led the Kenyan government to trim this year s growth forecast from 5.9 percent to 5.5 percent last month. We are not talking about a prolonged period of violence like we saw in 2007 and 2008 but more about a prolonged period of uncertainty about getting a government in place and the fiscal outlook, said Kevin Daly, a member of the Aberdeen Standard Investments investment committee. As a fixed income investor you worry not only about the growth story but also the fiscal outlook.

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RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi King Salman said there was consensus with Russia s leadership on broadening the scope of relations between the two countries following a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Saudi state press agency reported on Friday. We note with complete full satisfaction the matching opinions we sensed from the Russian leadership towards working to move the level of relations to a broader perspective, the king told business officials in Moscow on Thursday evening. Putin hosted King Salman for talks at the Kremlin earlier in the day, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria.

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HIALEAH, Florida (Reuters) - Conservative Hispanic activists fear a win by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in Florida’s presidential nominating contest next week will deal a major setback to efforts to widen the party’s appeal beyond white voters, potentially dooming hopes of retaking the White House from Democrats in 2016. Some of the activists said in interviews they feared a Trump win could prompt many Latino Republicans, angry at his anti-immigrant rhetoric, to stay home on Nov. 8, Election Day, or worse, support the Democratic nominee. “Sadly, the damage is going to be felt by the Republican Party for years,” said Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, of a possible Trump win in Florida on March 15. “This is a turning point,” he said. Trump has dominated opinion polls and early nominating contests, in large part because of his pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico; his labeling of Mexicans as criminals and rapists; and his accusations that immigrant workers steal American jobs. That kind of talk is well received by many white Republican voters, but not by minorities, polls show. That's a problem for the party, because while the American electorate has become more diverse in the last three years, Republican support among Hispanic likely voters has shrunk, from 30.6 percent in 2012 to 26 percent in 2015, according to an analysis of Reuters/Ipsos polling data. Meanwhile, Hispanic Democrats grew by 6 percentage points to 59.6 percent. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/1Oj9SPi) Trump’s campaign declined to comment, but he has consistently argued he can win the Latino vote, in part because his companies have employed thousands of Hispanics. “They’re incredible people. They’re incredible workers. I love them. I love them,” he said at a debate in February. Much of the establishment wing of the Republican party has thrown its weight behind Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a first-generation Cuban American. Rubio, however, lags Trump by 15 points in polls in Florida and may be forced out of the race if the New York businessman bests him. For Mark Gomez, a 20-year-old Cuban-American student at the University of Miami and a Rubio volunteer, the differences between Rubio’s and Trump’s approaches hit home when earlier this month on Twitter, a Trump supporter called him an “anchor baby.” Gomez was born in the United States of Cuban refugee parents. Immigration critics sometimes use “anchor babies” to describe U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants, usually from Latin America. Immigration groups say the phrase is offensive. Trump, Gomez said, “is just playing into people’s fears.” Rubio has toured Florida’s Latino enclaves in recent weeks, switching easily between Spanish and English at his rallies, while his allied super PAC, or independent fundraising group, has outspent all rivals combined in ads to boost him and erase Trump’s polling lead. Among Rubio’s challenges in besting Trump, however, could be drawing in younger generations of Florida’s Hispanics. Unlike conservatives of the past, who could take the Cuban-American vote in Florida for granted if they aggressively criticized the Castro government in Cuba, candidates are dealing with a new generation that is leaning more heavily to the Democratic Party. A decade ago 64 percent of Cuban registered voters nationwide identified with the Republican party. That’s now down to 47 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. And among young Cubans, from 18 to 49, more than half now identify with or lean toward the Democrats. “A lot of those Cubans who come from the island, that resentment, that pain, that hurt has really driven how they’ve reacted politically. Our generation is a generation removed from that in a lot of ways,” said Gabriel Pendas, 33, of Miami. He called Rubio “so outdated from how a lot of people feel.” Following Mitt Romney’s defeat as the Republican party’s presidential nominee in 2012, in which he received just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote nationwide, the Republican National Committee underwent an extensive and painful self-examination to determine the root causes of its failure. One thing was clear from the autopsy: The party needed to expand a voter base skewing too white and too old. The hope among party leaders, like Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus, was that a young, dynamic field of candidates like Rubio, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and others, would position the party well to reclaim some share of Latino vote from the Democrats. Rubio stood central to those hopes. Young, telegenic, bilingual, and armed with a compelling backstory, he seemed made-to-order. “Rubio’s tone, his aspirational message, his shared language and culture, makes him an ideal candidate,” said Daniel Garza, director of the LIBRE Institute in Miami, a conservative Hispanic advocacy group. But Trump, as he has done so often during this election season, took a wrecking ball to those plans. His hardline immigration stance forced many of his rivals - including Cruz - to adopt a harsher approach on immigration, while leaving others such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who has dropped out of the race, adrift. “We’ve lost an incredible opportunity,” said Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, referring to Trump’s front-runner status. Addressing a rally on Wednesday night in Hialeah, home to the largest number of Cubans outside of Cuba, Rubio spoke in both English and Spanish and urged supporters to “come out and vote in massive numbers.” Awaiting Rubio at the rally, Cuban-born Ahmed Martel, 45, was asked what he would do if Trump, not Rubio, was the party’s nominee in the fall. “I won’t vote,” Martel said. “I can’t vote for him.” (Additional reporting by Grant Smith and Maurice Tamman; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ross Colvin) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The alternative minimum tax on corporations, which had been included in the U.S. Senate’s tax bill, should be eliminated in the final legislation, Kevin McCarthy, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, said on Monday. “I think that has to be eliminated because that would destroy R&D,” McCarthy said in an interview with CNBC. “ ... Especially when you look at California, the engine that actually creates from a lot of entrepreneurs and others, that should be eliminated for sure.”

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The powerful earthquake that rocked Mexico City last week had terrifying echoes of a more deadly 1985 shock in one housing project, raising tough questions about how ready one of the world s largest cities is for a major catastrophe. At its epicenter, Thursday s 8.1 magnitude quake was stronger than the disaster three decades ago that killed at least 5,000 people in Mexico City, toppling two tower blocks in the historic central neighborhood of Tlatelolco. Mexico City has made major advances since then, with regular earthquake simulations, improved building regulations, and seismic alarms designed to sound long enough before the shock to give residents time to flee. Nearly 100 people are known to have died in the latest quake, none of them in the capital. Yet experts noted the tremor s epicenter was further from Mexico City and two times deeper than in 1985, and warned it would be wrong to assume the capital could now rest easy. Such caution was palpable in Tlatelolco. Antonio Fonseca, 66, a longtime resident who witnessed the 1985 collapse of the tower blocks in the Nuevo Leon housing complex that killed at least 200 people, said memories of the event sparked panic attacks in the neighborhood when the quake rolled through the city on Thursday. I m quite sure that these buildings are very well reinforced, said Fonseca, a local history expert. But there are many people who are still wary. When the ground began shaking in September 1985, local workers laughed it off at first, continuing with breakfast. Nobody believed Fonseca when he told them Nuevo Leon had fallen, he recalled. Later, Fonseca saw a group of children in the neighborhood s central Plaza de las Tres Culturas who had been waiting for the school bus, their uniforms caked in white dust from the building s collapse. This time around, residents feared the worst. Streets filled across the city when the quake hit near midnight. Crying and praying, hundreds descended onto the plaza and some stayed for hours, questioning whether it was safe to return home. Minerva de la Paz Uribe, a retiree living on the plaza, was unable to evacuate with her father, who turned 104 the next day. She watched from her window as neighbors scrambled to escape. People leave running with their dogs. They leave screaming. Are we prepared? No, no, we re not prepared, she said, as a group of friends on the plaza murmured in agreement. Some 30 buildings in Tlatelolco were rebuilt after the 1985 disaster and a dozen were demolished. Mexico s new skyscrapers include hydraulic shock absorbers and deep foundations. But such safety features are less prevalent in much of the sprawling periphery, which is filled with cheap cinderblock homes like the buildings that collapsed on Thursday in the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas near the epicenter. Situated at the intersection of three tectonic plates, Mexico is one of the world s most earthquake-prone countries, and the capital is particularly vulnerable due to its location on top of an ancient lake bed. The government s widely panned response to the 1985 quake caused upheaval in Mexico, which some credited with weakening the one-party rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). After 71 years, the PRI was finally voted out in 2000. Signs of government incompetence, or worse, persist. Mexican news website Animal Politico on Monday reported that thousands of seismic alarms acquired by the government of Oaxaca five years ago were never distributed, with some appearing for sale on online auction sites. A spokesman for Oaxaca s civil protection authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mistrust of government has spurred some to form community groups. Among the most famous are the Tlatelolco Topos, or moles, formed from rescue squads that dug survivors and corpses out of the rubble in 1985, and have since traveled the world offering assistance in quakes and landslides. But disasters have a habit of catching people off guard. Georgina Mendez de Schaafsma was returning from taking children to school when the 1985 temblor struck Tlatelolco. To her horror, she realized her six-year-old daughter was home alone. Racing back, Mendez retrieved the girl. But three other relatives died in the Nuevo Leon collapses. Now 70, Mendez still lives in the same building, which had a number of floors removed after the 1985 quake. She stayed indoors when the tremors began on Thursday night and believes Mexico City is better equipped today - up to a point. In a catastrophe, I think we re never prepared, she said. Nature is stronger.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing its policies over how it prosecutes corporate white collar crimes and may be making some changes “in the near future,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Thursday. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, Rosenstein said that the department is reviewing the so-called Yates Memo, a document released in 2015 by his predecessor Sally Yates, which urged prosecutors to focus on holding individuals accountable in corporate crime cases. “It is under review, and I anticipate that there may be some changes to the policy on corporate prosecutions,” Rosenstein said. He did not elaborate on what kinds of changes could be in store. The memo’s emphasis on individual accountability is likely to be preserved, given prior comments from Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the importance of punishing individuals for corporate crimes. The Yates Memo is widely seen as a response to criticism of the Justice Department following the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when few of the top bankers were prosecuted for their roles in the collapse of the housing market. Under the memo, prosecutors were instructed not to provide cooperation credit to a company during an investigation unless it disclosed all of the facts about the individuals who were involved in suspected wrongdoing. Defense lawyers criticized parts of the memo, saying they were concerned prosecutors might seek information that was subject to attorney-client privilege in exchange for their clients’ cooperation. Yates, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, was fired by the White House in January for refusing to defend President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Decisions on whether to pursue criminal and civil corporate penalties against companies have long fueled debate among legal experts. Critics say large corporate penalties can unduly punish shareholders and that focusing on individual accountability is preferable. Sessions echoed that philosophy in an April speech, saying: “It is not merely companies, but specific individuals, who break the law.” Many consumer advocacy groups disagree, saying that both individual accountability and large corporate penalties can deter bad behavior. Aside from discussing white collar crime on Thursday, Rosenstein said his office is reviewing other enforcement policy areas, such as marijuana and the department’s policy on when and how it may issue subpoenas to media organizations. He said no decisions have been made, but noted said there is some “pretty significant evidence” about the harms of marijuana.

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - The first public campaigns ahead of Australia s vote on legalizing same-sex marriage have hit television screens, sparking a truth-in-advertising debate on an issue that threatens to destabilize the ruling center-right coalition. Australians can take part in a non-binding postal ballot in September on whether to change the Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry. The process will inform the government on whether to pursue legislative change and join 24 other countries around the world where it is legal. The no and yes campaigns launched their first television adverts on Tuesday and Thursday, drawing immediate rebukes from their rivals. The no campaign linked same-sex marriage to paving the way for radical gender study program to be introduced in schools. Lyle Shelton, the head of the Australian Christian Lobby and spokesman for Coalition for Marriage, cited a case in Canada, and another in Britain. Look at the UK where a Jewish school in London faced the prospect of closure because it won t teach radical LGBTIQ education, he told Reuters in a phone interview, referring to the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer/questioning people. Australia s Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the two issues were not linked while non-government organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the ad was factually inaccurate. Because the postal vote is not a formal election it is not subject to the same rules on political advertisements. You can have posters and ads peddling outright lies, said Elaine Pearson, Australian HRW director. Australian Marriage Equality responded on Thursday with an advert saying same-sex marriage would give young gay people the same dignity as everyone else. Spokeswoman Kerryn Phelps said gay and lesbian counseling services were inundated by people distressed that their lives and relationships had been put up for judgment. It s humiliating and it s anxiety provoking, Phelps said. The marriage debate has dogged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for the past two years as he wrestles to sell the idea of a public vote to appease conservatives in his ruling government, many of whom only agreed to support Turnbull s leadership if he went ahead with the ballot. Conservatives expect any proposal to allow same-sex marriage would be rejected in a vote. The postal vote is subject to a High Court legal challenge to be resolved next week, with opponents of the process hoping it will be struck down before the issue is put to the people.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday that he does not agree with critics of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump who have labeled Trump authoritarian or fascist. “I don’t see it that way,” Ryan told reporters in the Capitol. He was responding to a question about whether he agreed with critics such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has called Trump authoritarian, and Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has likened Trump’s “strident tone” to the ascent of 1930s fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Ryan also said he was not worried that the Republican-majority House of Representatives might switch to Democratic control as a result of the November elections. “I’m not concerned about the House flipping because we are in control of our own actions.”

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has been increasing actions to protect Mexican migrants in response to a law in Texas that allows police to question people about their immigration status, a Mexican official said on Monday. Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Carlos Sada said Mexico respected decisions by the United States but added that Mexico had increased the number of places where its citizens could seek information and legal aid from consulates.

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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Egypt said on Tuesday it had suggested to Ethiopia and Sudan that they all call in international experts to help settle a dispute on an Ethiopian dam project on the river Nile. Egypt fears the hydroelectric scheme will restrict the waters flowing down from Ethiopia s highlands, through the deserts of Sudan to its fields and reservoirs. Ethiopia, which wants to become Africa s biggest power exporter, says it will have no such impact. Ministers from Ethiopia and Egypt met on Tuesday to try to resolve a disagreement over the wording of a report on the environmental impact of the $4-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is still being built. But Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said they had not managed to reach a breakthrough since the three nations last met in November. From a practical perspective, we have to recognize that technical deliberations ... have not (yielded) sufficient results to enable the process to move forward, Shoukry told journalists after the meeting in Addis Ababa. He suggested the countries call in outside experts, without going into details. Officials who took part in the sessions said Egypt had suggested involving an international body such as the World Bank. Ethiopia s foreign minister, Workneh Gebeyehu, told the same press conference he was looking for a win-win situation, but did not comment on the Egyptian proposal. Countries that share the river have argued over the use of its waters for decades - and analysts have repeatedly warned that the disputes could eventually boil over into conflict. Sudan and Ethiopia say Egypt has refused to accept amendments that they had put forward to the environmental report. Another source of disagreement is whether Ethiopia should be allowed to complete construction of the dam before the negotiations over ensuring water flows have finished. Egyptian officials say this would violate an agreement signed by all three countries in 2015 meant to ensure diplomatic cooperation.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - A second federal judge has taken the rare step of allowing a group suing for records from Hillary Clinton’s time as U.S. secretary of state to seek sworn testimony from officials, saying there was “evidence of government wrong-doing and bad faith.” The language in Judge Royce Lamberth’s order undercut the Democratic presidential contender’s assertion she was allowed to set up a private email server in her home for her work as the country’s top diplomat and that the arrangement was not particularly unusual. He described Clinton’s email arrangement as “extraordinary” in his order filed on Tuesday in federal district court in Washington. Referring to the State Department, Clinton and Clinton’s aides, he said there had been “constantly shifting admissions by the Government and the former government officials.” Spokesmen for Clinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case is a civil matter, but the order adds to the legal uncertainty that has overshadowed Clinton’s campaign to be the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 8 presidential election. The FBI is also conducting a criminal inquiry into the arrangement after it emerged that classified government secrets ended up in Clinton’s unsecured email account. Clinton has said she does not think she will be charged with a crime. Lamberth’s order granted the request by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group suing the department under open records laws, to gather evidence, including sworn testimony. The group has filed several lawsuits, including one seeking records about the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. “Where there is evidence of government wrong-doing and bad faith, as here, limited discovery is appropriate, even though it is exceedingly rare in FOIA (freedom-of-information) cases,” Lamberth noted in his order. The government is normally given the benefit of the doubt that it properly searched and produced records. Since the email arrangement came to public knowledge a year ago, the State Department has found itself defending Clinton in scores of lawsuits from groups, individuals and news outlets who say they were wrongly denied access to Clinton’s federal records. Clinton left the department in 2013, but did not return her email records to the government until nearly two years later. Last month, Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is overseeing a separate Judicial Watch lawsuit over other Clinton-related records, allowed a similar motion for discovery. (Story refiles to fix date of presidential election, paragraph 6.)

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HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was prepared to mediate between claimants to the South China Sea, where five countries contest China s sweeping claims to the busy waterway. Trump was speaking in Vietnam, which has become the most vocal opponent of China s claims and its construction and militarization of artificial islands in the sea. About $3-trillion in goods passes through the sea each year. If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know, Trump said in comments at a meeting in Hanoi with Vietnam s president, Tran Dai Quang. Trump acknowledged that China s position on the South China Sea was a problem. I m a very good mediator and arbitrator, he said. President Quang said Vietnam believed in handling disputes on the South China Sea through peaceful negotiations and on the basis of international laws - which Vietnam says nullify China s claims. Vietnam has reclaimed land around reefs and islets, but on nowhere near the same scale as China. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also have claims in the sea. Since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has grown closer to China, Vietnam has emerged as China s main challenger in the region. In July, China pressured Vietnam to stop oil drilling in a disputed area, taking relations to a low. Relations have since improved and Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Hanoi later on Sunday. The South China Sea was discussed in Beijing on an earlier leg of Trump s 12-day Asian tour and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States and China had a frank exchange of views. The United States has angered China with freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-controlled islands. From Vietnam, Trump left for the Philippines - the last stop on his tour - for a meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In August, the foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian countries and China adopted a negotiating framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, although critics see it as a tactic to buy China time to consolidate its power. The framework seeks to advance a 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea, which has mostly been ignored by claimant states, particularly China, which has built seven man-made islands in disputed waters, three of them equipped with runways, surface-to-air missiles and radars. All parties say the framework is only an outline for how the code will be established and critics raise doubts about how effective the pact will be. The framework will be endorsed by China and ASEAN members at a summit in Manila on Monday, a diplomat from one of the regional bloc s countries said. The next step is for ASEAN and China to start formal consultations and negotiations for the actual Code of Conduct, and the earliest that talks on this can start is February 2018, the diplomat said. Relations between Vietnam and the United States have blossomed in the decades since their war ended in 1975. A recent survey put the favorability of the United States at 84 percent among Vietnamese. But Vietnam s trade surplus remains an irritant for the Trump administration. At $32 billion last year, it was the sixth largest with the United States, though less than a tenth the size of China s. We want to get that straightened out very quickly, Trump said at a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnamese and U.S. companies signed memorandums of understanding on gas development and automobiles as well as aircraft engine purchase and support during Trump s visit. The value of the deals was unclear.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Sunday that inflexibility on the part of the United States was to blame for the lack of a bilateral meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit in Vietnam. Trump and Putin met briefly on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam on Saturday and agreed on a joint statement supporting a political solution for Syria, but did not hold substantive bilateral talks. “Unfortunately the American side did not offer any alternatives despite all efforts of our Russian colleagues. There was only one time offered that was convenient for the American side, and only one place offered, which had already been rented by the Americans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency. “The Americans showed no flexibility, and unfortunately did not offer any other alternative proposals. That is why the meeting could not happen,” Peskov added. Putin himself said on Saturday the lack of a bilateral meeting with Trump in Vietnam was due to both leaders’ schedules and protocol obstacles that their teams had been unable to overcome. Allegations that Trump’s election campaign colluded with Moscow last year to turn voters away from Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton have hampered the president’s efforts to improve frosty U.S.-Russian relations. Putin renewed his denial of the allegations during his brief meeting with Trump on Saturday. Trump has previously said the accusations of collusion were a hoax.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged congressional Republicans to repeal Obamacare immediately on Tuesday, saying there was no cause for delay and that a replacement plan should follow the repeal within weeks, according to an interview with the New York Times. “We have to get to business. Obamacare has been a catastrophic event,” Trump was quoted as saying in the Times. He said he wanted a repeal vote next week and said he would not accept a delay of more than a few weeks for a replacement.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico’s federal oversight board voted unanimously on Monday to certify the government’s fiscal turnaround plan, on the condition it be amended to eliminate Christmas bonuses, impose employee furloughs, and further reduce pension spending. The plan, a cornerstone of the federal Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, will serve as the baseline for looming restructuring talks with holders of some $70 billion in debt that has pushed the U.S. territory to the brink of economic collapse. The government can avoid some of the austerity measures, which have sparked protest among Puerto Ricans, if it presents alternative cost-saving measures by April 30, the board said. PROMESA required Governor Ricardo Rossello to present a turnaround blueprint that would require sign-off by the board. The board rejected an initial draft last week, saying it relied on “overly optimistic” economic projections. The latest version rolled back those numbers, boosting the island’s 10-year projected funding gap to $67 billion from $56 billion, and contemplating $39.6 billion in new cash flows from spending cuts and revenue initiatives, up from $33.8 billion in the last plan. The new version forecasts the island would have $800 million a year to service debt, down from $1.2 billion in the draft. “The new plan is modestly worse than the old plan for creditors, as it implies larger haircuts,” Puerto Rico credit analyst Chas Tyson, of KBW Inc, said in a note on Monday. Approval by the board came with conditions: the government must reduce pension spending by 10 percent beginning in 2020, cut Christmas bonuses and implement employee furloughs as soon as July 1 to stave off a short-term cash crunch. The austerity push drew protests outside the meeting in lower Manhattan on Monday, including from teachers who claimed the furloughs would shorten the public school year by the equivalent of two months a year. The government can avoid the furloughs and bonus cuts if it presents the board with a plan by April 30 to shore up liquidity by $200 million. Rossello said he was confident the cuts would not be necessary. “I’m very confident we’ll have $200 million in reserve cash, so that we can jump over that obstacle,” Rossello said in an interview with Reuters after Monday’s meeting. The board said it will negotiate over the next 30 days with the government on how to cut pensions, a contentious issue on an island where retirement systems are already borderline insolvent thanks to decades of mismanagement by governments that routinely made overly generous promises to workers. “All stakeholders have been forced to sacrifice, and no one is exempt from that,” board member Andrew Biggs, a pension expert, told reporters after the meeting. He added the cuts will be orchestrated “in a way that would spare the lowest-income people from any reductions.” Rossello said he will not pass public policy that would hurt the poorest pensioners. “I don’t see any way I can reduce pensions of people already having a hard time getting medications and things.” In another controversial move, the board said it supported government efforts to seek additional concessions from bondholders of Puerto Rico’s power utility, PREPA, which is more than $8 billion in debt. The utility and its creditors have had a tentative restructuring in place for more than a year, but Rossello’s administration has said it would seek new terms, sparking concern and frustration among PREPA’s creditors. A subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources announced it will hold a hearing on March 22 on the status of the PREPA deal, the current version of which sees creditors taking 15-percent cuts.

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GENEVA (Reuters) - The top U.N. human rights official welcomed President Barack Obama’s plan announced on Tuesday to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, but stressed that no detainee should remain in indefinite custody without charge or trial. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the U.S. facility in Cuba had been a “serious blot on the human rights record, and reputation, of the United States for the past 14 years”. “All Guantanamo detainees should either be transferred to regular detention centers in the U.S. mainland or other countries where fair trials before civilian courts and due process guarantees can be provided in accordance with international norms and standards,” he said in a statement. “If there is insufficient evidence to charge them with any crime, they must be released to their home country, or to a third country if they risk persecution at home.”

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, with oversight of Puerto Rico, on Thursday postponed until further notice a hearing on the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria and the role of a federally appointed oversight board. The spokesman for the committee said the hearing that had been planned for Oct. 24 would be rescheduled due to scheduling conflicts with witnesses. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would work with Congress to approve grants and loans to help rebuild Puerto Rico after last month’s devastating hurricane.

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JAKARTA/TIMIKA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Armed separatists have occupied five villages in Indonesia s Papua province, threatening to disrupt Freeport-McMoRan Inc s giant Grasberg copper mine, which has already been hit this year by labor unrest and a dispute over operating rights. A state of emergency has been declared and around 300 additional security forces have been deployed to the mining area of the eastern province after a string of shootings since Aug. 17 that killed one police officer and wounded six. They want to disrupt Freeport s operations, said Suryadi Diaz, a spokesman for the Papua police. (Freeport) is rich but they are poor, so they just want justice, Diaz said, adding that the militants were a splinter group of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama said the company was deeply concerned about security and was using armored cars and helicopters to ferry workers to and from the Grasberg mine in the province s Mimika regency. He said attacks had been launched along the road near the town of Tembagapura, about 10 km (6 miles) from the mine, where families of employees - including expatriates - live. He added that so far there had been no impact on production and shipments from Grasberg, the world s second-biggest copper mine. Last year Freeport Indonesia contributed about a quarter of the parent company s global sales of 4.23 billion pounds (1.92 million tonnes) of copper. Arizona-based Freeport, the world s largest publicly listed copper producer, has been grappling with labor problems at Grasberg and a lengthy dispute with the Indonesian government over rights to the mine. The mine has also be dogged by major concerns over security due to a low-level conflict waged by pro-independence rebels in Papua for decades. Between 2009 and 2015, shootings within the mine project area killed 20 people and wounded 59. Papua and neighboring West Papua provinces make up the western half of an island north of Australia, with independent Papua New Guinea to the east. The provinces have been plagued by separatist violence since they were incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticized U.N.-backed referendum in 1969. President Joko Widodo has sought to ease tension in the two provinces by stepping up investment, freeing political prisoners and addressing human rights concerns. Police spokesman Diaz said around 1,000 local residents and migrant workers who pan for gold in Mimika were being prevented by the separatists from leaving the five villages. Security forces had entered the occupied area on Thursday, police and military sources told Reuters, but it was not clear if they had been able to evacuate any of the residents. We are trying to maximize protection for the community ... because people have been raped and some have had goods stolen, Papua Police chief Boy Rafli Amar told Reuters. The water supply of Tembagapura town had also been contaminated with kerosene, Boy said, but police had not been able to ascertain if it was an act of sabotage by the same group. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch said police statements on the matter should not be taken for granted, due to decades of independent journalists restrictions in Papua. In a video purported to come from the National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), part of the OPM group, dated Sept. 29, a guerrilla action coordinator named as Joni Beanal reads out an open letter warning of attacks on Freeport in order to destroy it . The main reason for the integration of Papua into Indonesia was a conspiracy by America and Indonesia in the interests of mining exploitation by Freeport MacMoran in Papuan soil, the coordinator said in the video seen by Reuters. Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the video. Papua police spokesman Diaz dismissed the recording as old . Freeport spokesman Pratama declined to comment on the matter. Papua Military Commander Major General George Elnadus Supit said the TPN-OPM posed no significant threat and were just wild thieves who are perhaps being used by a separatist group . Concord Consulting group warned that a harsh crackdown on the militant group could backfire. Militants in Mimika will be able to hide among the local population many of whom share their rejection of Indonesian rule, the security consultancy said in a note on Wednesday. Freeport contributed $20 million toward Indonesian government-provided security protecting workers and infrastructure in 2016, about one-third of its local security budget. The company paid $668 million to the Indonesian government last year in income taxes, royalties and export duties, making it one of the country s single largest taxpayers. The Panguna copper and gold mine in neighboring Papua New Guinea was abandoned in 1989 after a campaign of sabotage by the rebel Bougainville Revolutionary Army. Echoing the situation in Papua, there was deep resentment among the indigenous Bougainville people about the wealth going to the Papua New Guinea central government and the mine s then operator, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd, a forerunner of Rio Tinto.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - John Kerry had heard enough. After last week’s bombing of a U.N. aid convoy in Syria dealt a death blow to a ceasefire deal in which he had invested all his diplomatic capital with Russia, the U.S. Secretary of State tossed aside a page of notes and looked at Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov across the horseshoe-shaped table in the U.N. Security Council. “I listened to my colleague from Russia, and I sort of felt a little bit like they’re sort of in a parallel universe here,” said a visibly angry Kerry, effectively calling Lavrov a liar for blaming the United States for spoiling the ceasefire. The moment in some ways captured the former politician’s time as the top U.S. diplomat, which will end with a new administration in January. Not for the first time, Kerry had invested months of intensive diplomacy and tireless traveling on an issue only to end up feeling let down or deceived by negotiating partners. On Syria, Kerry has wanted greater U.S. involvement than President Barack Obama was willing to support. In an interview on Friday with Reuters, Kerry said Lavrov’s “blatant obfuscation of reality ... took my breath away.” The attempted Syria ceasefire was his most ambitious effort to fix what some argue was the biggest foreign policy misstep of Obama’s administration, which began with the failure in 2013 to follow through on a “red line” threat against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the use of chemical weapons. Kerry hammered out the truce two weeks ago, but was left pleading in vain with Russia last week to halt renewed air strikes on the besieged city of Aleppo. James Dobbins, a former U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, noted Kerry’s “tireless, ceaseless engagement” even when pursuing administration policies he didn’t always agree with. “Kerry to his credit has stayed in the game even when he had a weak hand,” said Dobbins, a career diplomat who worked alongside Kerry in 2013 to hammer out a deal with President Hamid Karzai to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “The situation in Syria is too serious and too consequential to simply back off and leave it to others.” From Kerry’s perspective, it is better to fail than not to have tried. “The weakest hand of all would be to have another round of migrants going into Europe, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin do whatever he wants by dropping bombs and the United States doing nothing but pretending we’re sending some support to people,” Kerry told Reuters. “That is the weakest hand, and it is far stronger to stand up and find a way to leverage getting to the table and getting some kind of an understanding,” he added. In his nearly four years as America’s top diplomat, Kerry has racked up more miles than any other secretary of state, sometimes appearing to rush in without a clear strategy. “It is clear that Kerry is prepared to take greater risks with his own personal reputation than others might have ... because they did not want to be identified with failure,” said Dobbins. But some critics say Kerry stayed in the game too long in negotiating with Russia, which they argue manipulated his quest for a deal over Syria to strengthen its position. The Syrian conflict, with its shifting geopolitical forces, complex new alliances and new threats such as the rise of Islamic State, has tested Kerry like no other issue. After Obama declined to carry out threatened attacks on Assad’s forces over chemical weapons, Kerry perceived an opening to work with Lavrov on an agreement to get Syria to turn over its chemical arsenal, he told Reuters. That deal struck in 2013 was considered a success, but the war has since deteriorated and grown more complex following Russia’s military intervention backing Assad last year. Now the continuing ceasefire push by Kerry strikes some as hopeless gesturing. “Kerry’s plan is to do more of the same despite the repeated failure of U.S. attempts to strike a deal with Russia,” said Mutasem Alsyofi of the Syrian Civil Society Declaration Initiative, who met Kerry in New York last week. It’s not the first time Kerry’s been accused of overreaching. At the start of his term in 2013, Kerry vigorously pursued a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians. Even as others warned of failure, an undaunted Kerry spent months shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah. However, U.S. ally Israel’s announcement of 700 new housing units for Jewish settlements in territory the Palestinians claim for a future state finally caused the talks to collapse, although Israel blamed the Palestinians move to apply to join 15 international conventions and treaties. Kerry’s biggest accomplishments came in 2015 with the Iran nuclear deal and the U.N. climate change agreement. In both instances, he had Obama’s leadership and full support for the very visible U.S. role, though both deals have been vilified domestically in the polarized American political environment. Last week’s failure of a second Syrian ceasefire agreement brokered by Kerry unleashed a fresh round of stinging criticism of the administration’s Syria policy. Republican Senator John McCain called Kerry “intrepid but delusional” for placing too much faith in the prospect of cooperation with Russia. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who lost to George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, is not running for office again and has often remarked that he has nothing to lose. “In this business of diplomacy, you have to test things sometimes,” he told Reuters. “It is a mistake to delude yourself. It is also a mistake to avoid putting something to test where there is a reasonable chance something may be able to happen.” Hours after the tense exchange at the U.N. Security Council, Lavrov and Kerry met again. The Russian diplomat had brought a new proposal for putting the ceasefire back on track. Kerry looked at the sheet of paper, folded it tightly and stuffed it into his top pocket.

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(Reuters) - The man accused of tackling U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and breaking his ribs as he was mowing his lawn pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a misdemeanor assault charge, a court official said. Rene Boucher, 59, waived the formal reading of the charge at a hearing in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken said by telephone. Boucher, the Republican senator’s neighbor, is charged with fourth-degree assault causing minor injury, for which he faces up to a year in jail if convicted. A pretrial hearing was set for Nov. 30. Paul, 54, told police that Boucher came onto his property in a gated community near Bowling Green and tackled him from behind, the Bowling Green Daily News reported, citing an arrest warrant. Paul said on Twitter on Wednesday that he suffered six broken ribs and that X-rays showed a pleural effusion, which is a buildup of fluid in the tissues that line the lungs and the chest. The Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating last Friday’s incident, Milliken said. Citing unnamed sources, Fox News reported on Thursday that Paul had been told federal charges were expected in the case. The senator’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on that possibility. Matt Baker, Boucher’s attorney, was not immediately available to comment. Baker told Bowling Green television station WBKO that the incident was related to a property dispute and called the idea that Paul was “blindsided” an unfair characterization. Baker also told the TV station that politics was not a motivating factor in the dispute. Media reports have said Boucher, also a physician like Paul, had a long-running dispute with the senator. Milliken said Boucher’s $7,500 bond requiring him to keep a distance of at least 1,000 feet (305 m) between himself and Paul remained in effect. Earlier this week, U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Paul would return next week.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has requested that a trial over a lawsuit by former students of his now-defunct Trump University be put on hold until after the presidential inauguration, according to a motion filed by his lawyer late Saturday. A trial in federal court in San Diego over former Trump University students’ claims that they were defrauded by a series of real-estate seminars is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, but Trump lawyer Daniel Petrocelli said the president-elect needs to “devote all of his time and attention to the transition process.” Trump is due to assume office on Jan. 20, 2017. “The 69 days until inauguration are critical and all-consuming,” Petrocelli said in the filing, arguing that the president-elect should not be required to stand trial during that time. Petrocelli had said at a hearing in San Diego on Thursday that he would request the delay, though U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing the lawsuit, told lawyers he was not inclined to put off the six-year-old case further and encouraged the parties to settle. The lawsuit involves students who claim they were lured by false promises to pay up to $35,000 to learn Trump’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors. Trump owned 92 percent of Trump University and had control over all major decisions, the students’ court papers say. The president-elect denies the allegations and has argued that he relied on others to manage the business. Curiel also tentatively rejected last week a bid by the president-elect to keep a wide range of statements from the presidential campaign, which included attacks against Curiel himself, out of the fraud trial. Trump attacked the judge as biased against him. He claimed Curiel, who was born in Indiana but is of Mexican descent, could not be impartial because of Trump’s election campaign pledge to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s lawyers have argued that Curiel should bar from the trial accusations about Trump’s personal conduct including alleged sexual misconduct, his taxes and corporate bankruptcies, along with speeches and tweets. Curiel is presiding over two cases against Trump and the university. A separate lawsuit by New York’s attorney general is pending. While presidents enjoy immunity from lawsuits arising from their official duties, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that this shield does not extend to acts alleged to have taken place prior to taking office.

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ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia s Sochi on November 13, followed by a visit to Kuwait the following day, his office said on Monday. The visit to Sochi comes amid reports of potential sticking points in Turkey s planned purchase of a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, and Turkish objections to the attendance of Syrian Kurdish groups to a Russian-sponsored Syrian peace congress scheduled for Nov. 18. Last week, the two countries took a step toward the solution of an import crisis as Russia lifted restrictions on import of Turkish tomatoes.

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SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - Seoul and Beijing on Tuesday agreed to move beyond a year-long stand-off over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, a dispute that has been devastating to South Korean businesses that rely on Chinese consumers. The unexpected detente comes just days before U.S. President Donald Trump begins a trip to Asia, where the North Korean nuclear crisis will take center stage, and helped propel South Korean stocks to a record high. The installation of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system had angered China, with South Korea s tourism, cosmetics and entertainment industries bearing the brunt of a Chinese backlash, although Beijing has never specifically linked that to the THAAD deployment. Beijing worries the THAAD system s powerful radar can penetrate into Chinese territory. Both sides shared the view that the strengthening of exchange and cooperation between Korea and China serves their common interests and agreed to expeditiously bring exchange and cooperation in all areas back on a normal development track, South Korea s foreign ministry said in a statement. Before the THAAD dispute, bilateral relations flourished, despite Beijing s historic alliance with North Korea and Seoul s close ties with Washington, which includes hosting 28,500 U.S. troops. China is South Korea s biggest trading partner. At this critical moment all stakeholders should be working together to address the North Korea nuclear challenge instead of creating problems for others, said Wang Dong, associate professor of international studies at China s Peking University. This sends a very positive signal that Beijing and Seoul are determined to improve their relations. As part of the agreement, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in Vietnam on Nov. 10-11. South Korea recognized China s concerns over THAAD and made it clear the deployment was not aimed at any third country and did not harm China s strategic security interests, China s foreign ministry said. China reiterated its opposition to the deployment of THAAD, but noted South Korea s position and hoped South Korea could appropriately handle the issue, it added. China s position on the THAAD issue is clear, consistent and has not changed, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing in Beijing. The thaw is a big relief for South Korean tourism and retail firms as well as K-pop stars and makers of films and soap operas, which had found themselves unofficially unwelcome in China over the past year. In South Korea, a halving of inbound Chinese tourists in the first nine months of the year cost the economy $6.5 billion in lost revenue based on the average spending of Chinese visitors in 2016, data from the Korea Tourism Organization shows. The spat knocked about 0.4 percentage points off this year s expected economic growth, according to the Bank of Korea, which now forecasts an expansion of 3 percent. The sprawling Lotte Group, which provided the land where the THAAD battery was installed and is a major operator of hotels and duty free stores, has been hardest hit. It faces a costly overhaul and is expected to sell its Chinese hypermarket stores for a fraction of what it invested. A spokesman for holding company Lotte Corp expressed hope that South Korean firms activity in China would improve following the announcement. An official at Seoul s presidential Blue House, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the matter, said improvements for South Korean companies would come slowly. Shares in South Korean tourism and retail companies rallied nonetheless, with Asiana Airlines gaining 3.6 percent and Lotte Shopping up 7.14 percent. The benchmark Kospi index hit a record for a third straight day, gaining 0.9 percent. China has grown increasingly angry with North Korea s ongoing pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in defiance of United Nations sanctions, even as it chafes at U.S. pressure to rein in its isolated ally. The recent deterioration in ties between China and North Korea may have contributed to Tuesday s agreement, the Blue House official said. Pyongyang has undertaken an unprecedented missile testing program in recent months, as well as its biggest nuclear test yet in early September, as it seeks to develop a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States. The head of NATO on Tuesday urged all United Nations members to fully and transparently implement sanctions against North Korea. North Korea s ballistic and nuclear tests are an affront to the United Nations Security Council, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Tokyo, where he met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Separately, a South Korean lawmaker said North Korea probably stole South Korean warship blueprints after hacking into a local shipbuilder s database last April. Expectations had been growing for a warming in the frosty bilateral ties following this month s conclave of China s Communist Party, during which Xi cemented his status as China s most powerful leader after Mao Zedong. Earlier this month, South Korea and China agreed to renew a $56 billion currency swap agreement, while Chinese airlines are reportedly planning to restore flight routes to South Korea that had been cut during the spat. Tuesday s agreement came after high-level talks led by Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of national security of the Blue House, and Kong Xuanyou, assistant foreign minister of China and the country s special envoy for North Korea-related matters.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union warned China on Wednesday that it should respect an international court ruling expected later this year on its dispute with the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea. China claims virtually all the South China Sea and rejects the authority of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague hearing the dispute, even though Beijing has ratified the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea on which the case is based. Amy Searight, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, said the United States, the European Union, and allies like Australia, Japan and South Korea must be ready to make clear that the court’s ruling must be binding and that there would be costs to China for not respecting it if it lost the case. “We need to be ready to be very loud and vocal, in harmony together, standing behind the Philippines and the rest of the ASEAN claimants to say that this is international law, this is incredibly important, it is binding on all parties,” she told a seminar at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Searight said the message to China, if it did not respect a negative ruling, should be, “we will hold you accountable.” “Certainly, reputational cost is at stake, but we can think of other creative ways to perhaps impose costs as well,” she said without elaborating. The Hague tribunal has no powers of enforcement and its rulings have been ignored before. Manila has said the court may hand down a ruling before May. China disputes South China Sea territory with several other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the Philippines. Klaus Botzet, head of the political section of the EU Delegation in Washington, said it was difficult to oppose world opinion. “A joint Western, a joint world opinion, matters also for Beijing,” he said. “If we unanimously support that international law as formulated by the international tribunal in the Hague ... needs to be upheld, that’s a very strong message and will be very difficult to ignore,” he said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said he had “noted” the comments, and repeated China’s opposition to the arbitration case and refusal to participate. The Philippines’ “scheme would never succeed”, he told a daily news briefing in Beijing. In unusually forthright language, Botzet said China’s policy of military buildup was not in its interest. “It’s investing much more in its military relative to its economic growth; it’s forcing its neighbors into alliances against itself; positions its neighbors otherwise wouldn’t take and the return on investment on this policy is negative,” he said. The United States had exceptional military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific, Botzet said, adding that the European Union “strongly supports the American guarantee of international law in Asia.”

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MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia said on Monday it was confident all officials including police would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule on the region in a dispute that is raising fears of unrest among Spain s European allies. The Spanish government has invoked special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force elections to counter an independence drive. A vote in the national Senate to implement direct rule is due on Friday. But leaders of the secessionist campaign said a referendum on Oct. 1, in which 43 percent of the electorate voted, gave them a mandate to claim independence from the rest of Spain. It s not that we will refuse (orders). It is not a personal decision. It is a seven million-person decision, Catalonia s foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told BBC radio. Romeva was asked whether he believed all institutions, including the police, would follow orders from Catalan institutions rather than obey the Spanish government. And from that perspective, I have no doubt that all civil servants in Catalonia will keep following the instructions provided by the elected and legitimate institutions that we have right now in place (in Catalonia), he said. Catalan authorities said about 90 percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. 1 voted for independence. But only 43 percent of the electorate and 1 in 3 Catalans participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home. The crisis over the wealthy Catalan region has raised fears among European countries of a spillover to other parts of the continent. Two wealthy regions of northern Italy voted overwhelmingly on Sunday for greater autonomy, though those referendums were held in line with the constitution and were not binding on Rome. Separatists are active in Belgium s Flanders region, and France s Corsica has long been home to a secessionist movement. At a European Union summit last week, leaders sought to minimize Spain s crisis with Catalonia and described the secession bid as a domestic issue. Civil disobedience was also backed by the far-left party CUP, a key support for Catalonia s pro-independence minority government in the regional parliament, which has called Madrid s actions an aggression against all Catalans. An aggression which will be met with massive civil disobedience, the CUP said in a statement. Several hundred Catalan municipalities said they were against direct rule from Madrid and asked the Catalan parliament to vote on a motion rejecting it. Some teachers and firemen also said they would not recognize Spain s authority. We will not recognize as valid interlocutors those people who are not representatives of popular legitimacy, the teachers union USTEC said in a statement. We will be where we should be in this moment: with the Catalan institutions and with democracy as it fights for its survival. Spain has said it would fire top Catalan officials if they did not comply with orders but it has remained vague on how it plans to implement direct rule if lower ranking civil servants decide not to follow instructions. Foreign minister Alfonso Dastis said the central government was not planning any arrests. Around 4,000 national police who had been shipped in for the referendum have remained in Catalonia. This comes on top of 5,000 state police already based in the region. They usually act as a back-up to Catalonia s own 17,000-strong police force, the Mossos d Esquadra, though they have also been seen reinforcing security at some official buildings in Catalonia s capital Barcelona. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has called the Catalan parliament to meet this week to agree on a response to Madrid, something many observers said could pave the way for a formal declaration of independence. The assembly will meet on Thursday to agree a response to direct rule. Puigdemont was also considering appearing before the Spanish Senate to explain his position. The Cercle d Economia, an influential Catalan business association, called on Puigdemont to resolve the crisis by calling a snap election before direct rule becomes effective. Catalonia risked heading into prolonged and uncontrolled insecurity and civil unrest, it said. Its consequences are unpredictable but, in any case, dramatic in terms of self-government, coexistence, economic growth and employment, it said in a statement. More than 1,300 companies have decided to transfer their legal headquarters out of Catalonia due to the current uncertainty, according to the national companies registry. However, Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said calling a snap election was not an option. An opinion poll published by the El Periodico newspaper on Sunday showed a snap election would probably have results similar to the last ballot, in 2015, when a coalition of pro-independence parties formed a minority government. Spain s Deputy Prime Minister said Puigdemont would be out of a job once direct rule was enforced and Madrid would install its own representative. The Spanish government has said it would call a regional election within six months. They are president of the regional government and senior figures in that government because of the constitution, said Soraya Saenz de Santamaria during a radio interview. They are not entrusted with that role by any divine authority, she said.

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MADRID (Reuters) - Pro-independence parties in Catalonia are seen in a position to keep their absolute majority of seats in regional elections on Thursday, according to an exit poll published by La Vanguardia newspaper as polling stations closed. The separatist parties were seen getting 67-71 seats in the 135-seat assembly, the poll showed. No official results have yet been published and it was unclear if final results would match the poll. Opinion polls before the vote had shown separatists and unionists running neck-and-neck in the wealthy Spanish region. The first official preliminary results are expected around 2100 GMT and final results after midnight.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign two executive orders on Wednesday including one on border security and the intent to build a wall along the U.S. southern border, and another strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws, the White House said. “Building this barrier is more than just a campaign promise. It’s a common sense first step to really securing our porous border,” said White House spokesman Sean Spicer. “This will stem the flow of drugs, crime, illegal immigration into the United States.” He said the orders will strip federal money from so-called sanctuary cities and end a “catch and release” policy of previous administrations.

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BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - On the eve of his trip to Europe, Rex Tillerson gave a speech last week that European allies had waited months to hear: an “ironclad” promise of U.S. support to its oldest allies. The relief in European capitals lasted barely a day as reports surfaced of a White House plan to oust the U.S. secretary of state, plunging America’s friends back into confusion over President Donald Trump’s foreign policy. The uncertainty is particularly acute given Washington’s leading role in crises in North Korea and Syria. “Just as Tillerson comes to Brussels to give a public statement of support that the EU and NATO have wanted all along, it seems he has no mandate, that the guillotine is hanging over his head,” said an EU official involved in diplomacy with White House officials. “It leaves Europe just as doubtful as before about Trump.” U.S. officials said on Thursday the White House had a plan for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson but Trump said on Friday he was not leaving and the secretary of state said on Saturday the reports were untrue. European leaders yearn for stability in U.S. foreign policy. They are troubled by Trump’s “America first” rhetoric and inconsistent statements on NATO and the European Union. In addition, Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change accord and his decision not to certify Iran’s compliance with a nuclear deal undermine European priorities. “The chaos in the administration doesn’t help in the current geopolitical climate,” said a senior French diplomat. Early last week, Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil chief executive, delivered a long address in support of Europe in Washington more akin to traditional U.S. policy. “The United States remains committed to our enduring relationship with Europe. Our security commitments to European allies are ironclad,” he told a think tank. He said he would convey that message to the European Union and NATO. He is set to visit Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna on Thursday and Paris on Friday. The question is whether European officials believe him, given tensions during his April visit to Europe, when Reuters reported Tillerson initially planned to skip a NATO meeting in Brussels and then only attended under pressure from allies. “If there were expectations that Tillerson might evolve into a counterweight to Trump, someone who could pass on messages from partners and exert moderating influence over American foreign policy – those expectations have been disappointed,” said Niels Annen, foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s Social Democrats in parliament. “On his watch, the State Department has become a non-actor.” Despite Tillerson’s pledge to reform the U.S. foreign service, European governments take a dim view of how he has sought to cut costs at the State Department, with top diplomatic posts unfilled almost a year into the administration. The French have gone around Tillerson to develop contacts with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, while the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini has gone directly to Vice President Mike Pence. Berlin has focused on Capitol Hill, as well as Kelly, McMaster and Mattis. Yet it is unclear if that access translates into a direct impact on Trump’s foreign policy, diplomats said. There is hope that if Pompeo is appointed he could rejuvenate the State Department after Tillerson, who is seen as ineffective, diplomats said. Pompeo is an unknown quantity in Europe but is viewed as closer to Trump. “We may be looking at a larger dose of Trump at the State Department,” if Pompeo did get the job, said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, head of the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office. One European diplomat said Tillerson was in a difficult position from the outset because the Trump administration was hostile to Iran and brought in a team of generals who took a hard line, “so it never left Tillerson much room.” In addition, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has taken a leading role in formulating policy on Middle East peace. But Europeans see Trump as a blizzard of conflicting signals. At a NATO summit in Brussels in May, the president publicly admonished European leaders for their low defense spending and threatened to reduce support, only to announce a jump in U.S. military spending in Europe months later. Things may only become more unpredictable, diplomats say. European diplomats see Tillerson and Mattis as instrumental in talking Trump out of making any rash decisions over North Korea and its nuclear program, given administration comments about “utterly destroying” the country.

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HANOI (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Vietnam on Thursday said they were seeking the death sentence in an embezzlement case against a former chairman of state energy firm PetroVietnam, as the communist country steps up one of its biggest corruption crackdowns. Some high-ranking political officials have been punished as investigations widen into PetroVietnam and the banking sector, with dozens of banking and energy officials facing trial on charges such as embezzlement, mismanagement and abuse of power. In a statement, the Supreme People s Procuracy of Vietnam said it had sought a death sentence for the former chairman, Nguyen Xuan Son, on charges that include wrongdoing with serious economic consequences and abuse of power to usurp assets. It urged an overall penalty of death , listing punishments such as a jail term of 16 to 18 years for flouting state rules on economic management and life imprisonment for abuse of power, before seeking the death sentence for embezzlement . In 2009, PetroVietnam acquired an 800-billion-dong ($35-million) stake in Ocean Group s banking unit, Ocean Bank, which had to be completely written off in 2015, when the central bank took it over at no cost. Son could not be reached for comment as he is on trial, and Reuters could not immediately reach his lawyer. Prosecutors also sought life imprisonment for Ocean Group s founder, tycoon Ha Van Tham on charges ranging from embezzlement to abuse of power, the statement said, adding that dozens of other Ocean Bank staff could also face years in jail. Ocean Group, which has interests in real estate, finance, hotels and infrastructure, said it had no comment on the sentence sought for Tham, who cannot be reached as he is still on trial. Police opened three new cases against state firm units, among them Russian joint venture Vietsovpetro, Vietnam s sole refinery operator Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp. All three cases focus on alleged abuse of power to usurp assets and are linked to violations at Ocean Bank, Vietnam s police said in a statement on their website on Thursday. Police added another accusation of abuse of power against PetroVietnam s vice general director Ninh Van Quynh, they added, following his arrest and prosecution this month for alleged wrongdoing. Quynh could not be contacted for comment on the fresh charge as he is on trial. Last week a former central bank governor was prosecuted for alleged lack of responsibility. Dinh La Thang, a former PetroVietnam chairman, was removed from the powerful politburo and last month, a vice trade minister was sacked.

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon has identified the bodies of six of its soldiers found along the Syrian border in an area held by Islamic State until three days ago, sources in the president s office said. The Lebanese army launched an offensive this month which ended with Islamic State militants leaving their last foothold along the border on Sunday. Since then the army has found 10 bodies in the area. DNA tests confirmed that six of those belonged to Lebanese soldiers, the sources and local media reported on Wednesday. Islamic State militants had for years held territory along the border, and captured 10 Lebanese soldiers in 2014 when they briefly overran the town of Arsal, one of the worst spillovers of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. The militants and their families left the border area on Sunday under a ceasefire deal. The agreement included IS militants identifying where they had buried the soldiers bodies, Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday. I had two choices: either I continue the battle and not know the soldiers fate, or I submit to the situation and find out. Their souls are my responsibility, he told reporters. It was not immediately clear if all six belonged to those captured in 2014, however - one of the bodies discovered is believed to belong to a soldier killed in the recent fighting. Of the 10 captured in 2014, one was killed shortly after and footage of his execution was published by the militants. Another is believed to have joined Islamic State. His whereabouts is unknown.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans Donald Trump and Chris Christie teamed up on Monday to assail Democratic President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as weak on domestic security, making the kind of one-two punch possible if Trump picks Christie as his running mate. At a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and Christie, the tough-talking New Jersey governor, seized on the Dallas police shootings as examples of why Americans need a “law and order” candidate like Trump. Much of the debate about security in the presidential campaign has been about threats abroad. The shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers last week and violence in other cities have shifted the debate back home for now. Trump, a wealthy real estate developer, presented himself as “the law and order candidate” and called Clinton weak. He said she has grown out of touch with the plight of ordinary Americans and cited her making paid speeches to corporate interests as a cause. “Perhaps it is easy for politicians to lose touch with reality when they are being paid millions of dollars to read speeches to Wall Street executives, instead of spending time with real people in real pain,” he said. “The disconnect in America is deep. There are two Americas: the ruling class, and the groups it favors, and then everyone else,” said Trump. In the final days of his search for a vice presidential running mate, Trump was introduced at the event by Christie, who is one of Trump’s top potential picks to be his vice presidential running mate. Christie, a former rival of Trump for the presidential nomination, showed himself capable of assuming the role of political attack dog, a job the vice presidential nominee usually assumes. He suggested Obama has taken sides against police in the country’s debate over race and police brutality. “We need a president who once again will put law and order at the top of the priority of the presidency of this country,” Christie said. “Our police officers ... need to understand that the president of the United States and his administration will give them the benefit of the doubt, not always believe that what they have done is somehow wrong.” Trump has been test-driving his vice presidential possibilities. He campaigned last week with former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, and is to appear with a third No. 2 possibility, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, in Indiana on Tuesday. The New York businessman has appeared most comfortable publicly with Gingrich. Both Gingrich and Christie have been advisers for Trump behind the scenes. Trump is also considering retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn for the job, but told The Washington Post in an interview published on Monday that he is leaning toward a conventional politician. “I don’t need two anti-establishment people,” Trump said. “Someone respected by the establishment and liked by the establishment would be good for unification. I do like unification of the Republican Party.” Trump said he would decide on his vice presidential pick in the next three or four days. The Republican National Convention, at which he is to be nominated as the party’s candidate, opens in Cleveland next Monday. (This version of the story was refiled to fix typographical error in 4th paragraph to make it “estate” instead of “state”)

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KIEV (Reuters) - Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday a U.S. decision to suspend visa services in Turkey was upsetting, adding that Turkish foreign ministry officials had contacted their U.S. counterparts over the issue. “Above all, the decision is very upsetting. For the embassy in Ankara to take such a decision and implement, it is upsetting,” Erdogan told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine.

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OSLO (Reuters) - The Russian helicopter that went down off the coast of Svalbard on Thursday has still not been located more than 90 minutes after it went down at sea, Norway s rescue service told independent broadcaster TV2. The helicopter had a crew of five and three passengers, all with Russian-sounding names , said the leader of the rescue operation coordination, Tore Hongset.

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State threatened attacks on U.S. soil in retaliation for the Trump administration s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, one of the group s social media accounts reported on Thursday without giving any details. In a message on one of its accounts on the Telegram instant messaging service titled Wait for us and ISIS in Manhattan , the group said it would carry out operations and showed images of New York s Times Square and what appeared to be an explosive bomb belt and detonator. We will do more ops in your land, until the final hour and we will burn you with the flames of war which you started in Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria and Afghan. Just you wait, it said. The recognition of your dog Trump (sic) Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will make us recognize explosives as the capital of your country. Washington triggered widespread anger and protests across the Arab world with its decision on Jerusalem. The disputed city is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, and is home to Islam s third holiest site. It has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades. Islamic State was driven out of its Iraqi and Syrian capitals this year and squeezed into a shrinking pocket of desert straddling the border between the two countries. The forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria now expect a new phase of guerrilla warfare there. Militants including people claiming allegiance to Islamic State have carried out scores of deadly attacks in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the United States over the past two years.

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MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had made significant progress on trade issues during a fruitful trip across Asia that saw governments roll out red carpets like nobody has ever seen . We ve made some very big steps with respect to trade, far bigger than anything you know, Trump told reporters in Manila on the sidelines of a summit with leaders of Southeast Asian and East Asian nations. He did not give details of his achievements on trade matters during a tour that took him to Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam before his last leg in the Philippines capital. He said a statement would be issued from the White House on Wednesday about North Korea, and on trade, key issues of a trip he described as fruitful. It was red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably ever seen, he said. In Vietnam at the weekend, Trump and leaders of Pacific Rim nations agreed to address unfair trade practices and market- distorting subsidies , a statement that bore the imprint of Trump s efforts to reshape the global trade landscape. His America First vision has upset a traditional consensus favoring multinational trade pacts that China now champions. On the sidelines of the Vietnam meeting, 11 countries kept alive a Trans Pacific trade deal whose future was thrown into doubt when Trump withdrew from it in the name of protecting American jobs. Chinese President Xi Jinping told the summit in Vietnam that Asia-Pacific nations must uphold multilateralism , countering Trump s message that the United States would stay out of trade deals that surrender its sovereignty. Trump, by contrast, blasted the World Trade Organization and multilateral trade deals during his tour. Some analysts expect tougher U.S. action may be imminent to fight trade imbalances with China exacerbated by its state-led economic model.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $700 billion defense policy bill on Tuesday, backing President Donald Trump’s call for a bigger, stronger military, but failing to decide how to fund the massive spending increase. The Republican-controlled House voted 356-70 for the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which authorizes the level of defense spending and sets policies controlling how the money is spent. But the legislation defies spending caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act and there is no clear plan from Congress on how to provide the money for the Pentagon. The 2018 NDAA authorizes $634 billion in base defense spending, for such things as buying weapons and paying the troops, well above the $549 billion allowed under the previous legislation. The NDAA also includes provisions such as an increase in active troop levels by more than 16,000, and states that climate change is a national security threat. The defense policy bill will become law if it passes the Republican-controlled Senate and is signed into law by the president, as expected. But spending will nonetheless be cut automatically if Congress cannot come up with a deal to resolve the gap in funding. Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Congress’ failure to address the issue makes life more difficult for military leaders because they cannot plan in advance. “This defense bill is $72 billion over the budget caps, so if we don’t eliminate or raise the budget caps, that additional money will go away and leave us once again in the land of uncertainty for the Department of Defense,” he said. Representative Mac Thornberry, the House Armed Service Committee’s Republican chairman, said Congress needed to pass an appropriations bill to allow for the $700 billion. “Securing those appropriations must be Congress’ top priority before the year ends,” Thornberry said in a statement. The NDAA also includes about $66 billion in special war funding, which is exempt from the so-called sequestration cap. The measure passed by the House on Tuesday is a compromise reached by House and Senate negotiators between separate versions of the bill approved in the chambers earlier this year. However, a budget fight is expected because Senate Democrats may not agree to big increases in funds for the military if spending caps on non-defense programs are not also eased. The Republican majority in the Senate is so small that most legislation cannot pass without some Democratic votes.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is looking at all ways it can put pressure on North Korea after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test, Prime Minister Theresa May s spokeswoman said on Monday, adding that peaceful diplomatic solutions were preferable. North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday, prompting a warning of a massive military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. As the prime minister made clear yesterday ... our focus is on working with partners to increase pressure on Korea and find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, May s spokeswoman told reporters. She said we want to increase the pace of implementation of existing sanctions and look at other measures ... It s our view in the UK that ... peaceful, diplomatic means are best.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday said, apparently inaccurately, that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Russian interference did not affect the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In fact, U.S. intelligence agencies in January said that they had made no assessment one way or the other on the impact of Moscow’s hacking and propaganda campaign but its report stated that Russia’s aim was to try and help then-Republican candidate Donald Trump’s election chances. Pompeo, a former Republican congressman and Trump ally, was asked at an event in Washington if he could say with absolute certainty that the election results were not skewed as a result of Russian interference. Pompeo replied: “Yes. Intelligence community’s assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election.” The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, criticized Pompeo for his remark. “I was deeply disappointed to learn that CIA Director Pompeo today asserted that the intelligence community had found that Russian interference in our election did not affect the outcome. In fact, the Intelligence community made no such finding, nor could it,” Schiff said in a statement that noted the January assessment. “This is not the first time the Director has made statements minimizing the significance of what the Russians did, but it needs to be the last,” Schiff said. The agency later issued a statement that appeared to walk back Pompeo’s remark. “The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed, and the Director did not intend to suggest that it had,” said Dean Boyd, the director of the CIA’s office of public affairs. Russia has repeatedly denied U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Moscow meddled in the election and Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russian officials. Committees in both the U.S. Senate and the House are investigating as is a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller. The probes have cast a shadow over Trump’s presidency, especially after Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey was fired by Trump in May. In an interview with NBC after Comey’s removal, Trump admitted that he was thinking about “this Russia thing” when he decided to fire Comey.

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DUBLIN (Reuters) - Sinn Fein s Gerry Adams, a pivotal figure in the political life of Ireland for almost 50 years, said on Saturday he will step down as party leader and complete a generational shift in the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Reviled by many as the face of the IRA during its campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, Adams reinvented himself as a peacemaker in the troubled region and then as a populist opposition parliamentarian in the Irish Republic. Adams said he would be replaced as party president, a position he has held since 1983, at a party conference next year. He would also not stand for reelection to the Irish parliament. Republicanism has never been stronger... But leadership means knowing when it is time for change. That time is now, Adams said in an emotional speech to a packed party conference. I have complete confidence in the next generation of leaders, he said. Adams stayed on stage as the 2,500-strong crowd, some in tears, gave him a standing ovation and sang a traditional Irish song about the road home, followed by the national anthem. Adams will almost certainly hand over to a successor with no direct involvement in the decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, a prospect that would make Sinn Fein a more palatable coalition partner in the Irish Republic where it has never been in power. Deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald, an English literature graduate from Trinity College Dublin who has been at the forefront of a new breed of Sinn Fein politicians transforming the party s image, is the clear favourite to take over. That would mean the left-wing party being led on both sides of the Irish border by women in their 40s after Michelle O Neill succeeded Martin McGuinness as leader in Northern Ireland shortly before the former IRA commander s death in March. Adams, who will turn 70 next October, has always denied membership of the IRA but accusations from former IRA fighters that he was involved in its campaign of killings have dogged him throughout his career. Adams was a key figure in the nationalist movement throughout the three decades of violence between Catholic militants seeking a united Ireland, mainly Protestant militants who wanted to maintain Northern Ireland s position as a part of Britain, and the British army. 3,600 died in the conflict, many at the hands of the IRA. As head of the political wing of the IRA during its bombing campaigns in 1980s Britain, Adams was a pariah and banned from speaking on British airwaves, forcing television stations to dub his voice with that of an actor. He and his party emerged from the political cold in October 1997 when he shook hands with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair at their first meeting. A year later, he helped win sceptical elements in the IRA to the Good Friday peace deal, which largely ended the violence. Since the peace deal Adams and McGuinness turned Sinn Fein from a fringe party into the dominant Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland and the third largest party in south of the border. While its anti-austerity platform led to a six-fold increase in its number of seats in the Republic - 23 out of 158 - suspicion of Sinn Fein s role in the Northern Ireland troubles still runs deep and the far larger ruling Fine Gael and or main opposition Fianna Fail have ruled out governing alongside them. Analysts say a change of leader could help open the way to Sinn Fein entering government in Dublin for the first time. Under a new Sinn Fein leader I think anything is possible, said David Farrell, politics professor at University College Dublin. A new Sinn Fein leader will also take over responsibility for rescuing power-sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland and avoid a return to full direct rule from London for the first time in decade. Power-sharing collapsed after Sinn Fein withdrew in January saying the Democratic Unionist Party was not treating it as an equal partner and a series of talks have failed to break the impasse.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China s envoy to North Korea appears to have had little impact in addressing tensions with North Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday after Pyongyang test fired its most advanced missile earlier this week. The Chinese envoy, who just returned from North Korea, seems to have had no impact on Little Rocket Man, Trump said in a post on Twitter, referring to North Korea s leader Kim Jong Un. A Chinese envoy reportedly visited North Korea earlier this month.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday he is not convinced that carbon dioxide from human activity is the main driver of climate change and said he wants Congress to weigh in on whether CO2 is a harmful pollutant that should be regulated. In an interview with CNBC, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the Trump administration will make an announcement on fuel efficiency standards for cars “very soon,” stressing that he and President Donald Trump believe current standards were rushed through. Pruitt, 48, is a climate change denier who sued the agency he now leads more than a dozen times as Oklahoma’s attorney general. He said he was not convinced that carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal is the main cause of climate change, a conclusion widely embraced by scientists. “I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact,” he told CNBC. “So no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Pruitt said. “But we don’t know that yet, we need to continue to debate, continue the review and analysis.” Trump campaigned on a promise to roll back environmental regulations ushered in by former President Barack Obama, including those aimed at combating climate change. He framed his stand as aimed at boosting U.S. businesses, including the oil and gas drilling and coal mining industries. “We can be pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-environment,” Pruitt said Wednesday afternoon in a Houston speech at CERAWeek, the world’s largest gathering of energy executives. Scientists immediately criticized Pruitt’s statement, saying it ignores a large body of evidence collected over decades that shows fossil fuel burning as the main factor in climate change. “We can’t afford to reject this clear and compelling scientific evidence when we make public policy. Embracing ignorance is not an option,” Ben Santer, climate researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said in a statement. The Supreme Court unleashed a fury of regulation and litigation when it ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are an air pollutant that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Two years later, the EPA declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants. Pruitt said the Supreme Court’s decision should not have been viewed as permission for the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. “Decisions were made at the executive branch level that didn’t respect the rule of law,” Pruitt said in his Houston speech. Pruitt has previously said the EPA should not regulate CO2 without a law passed by Congress authorizing it to do so. The Republican-controlled Congress could potentially issue a strong signal to the EPA that carbon dioxide should not be regulated by the agency, a move that would undermine many Obama-era rules aimed at curbing emissions. “Administrator Pruitt is correct, the Congress has never explicitly given the EPA the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant and the committee has no plans to do so,” said Mike Danylak, spokesman for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the panel that oversees the EPA. When asked at his confirmation hearing in January whether he would uphold the EPA endangerment finding, Pruitt said it was the “law of the land” and he was obliged to uphold it for now. Pruitt declined to respond to a question from a reporter after his Houston speech on whether he would now seek to overturn the endangerment finding. As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt and another dozen attorney generals unsuccessfully challenged the endangerment finding in a federal appeals court. “The mask is off. After obscuring his true views during his Senate confirmation hearings, Scott Pruitt has outed himself as a pure climate denier,” said David Doniger, director of the climate program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The new EPA chief said he was committed to ensuring thorough processes for environmental rules and regulations to reduce “regulatory uncertainty.” Pruitt added that he shared Trump’s view that the global climate accord agreed by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015 was a “bad deal.” Trump promised during his campaign for the White House to pull the United States out of the accord, but has since been mostly quiet on the issue.

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GENEVA (Reuters) - Humanitarian crises around the world will worsen next year with no let-up in African civil wars, near-famines in conflict-ridden regions and the threat of Islamist violence, a Geneva-based think-tank predicted in a report published on Thursday. The report by ACAPS, a non-profit venture that supports humanitarian aid workers with daily monitoring and analysis of 150 countries, examined the anticipated needs of 18 countries in 2018 and found little to cheer. If 2017 did not look good, predictions for 2018 are no better: violence and insecurity are likely to deteriorate in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia, and Syria next year, ACAPS director Lars Peter Nissen wrote in the report. Next year Ethiopia will join northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen as places at risk of famine, said the report, entitled "Humanitarian Overview: An analysis of key crises into 2018". here In a separate report, the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network said an estimated 76 million people across 45 countries were likely to need food aid in 2018, driven by conflict, an 18-month-old drought in the Horn of Africa and forecasts for below average rains in Africa s spring next year. Rather than bringing stability, the prospect of elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and Venezuela is expected to exacerbate tensions and fuel violence, the ACAPS report said. Islamic extremism will also continue to cause death and conflict, the report said. Despite the defeat of Islamic State in its main strongholds in Iraq, the group is expected to continue improvised attacks throughout the country to destabilise the government, as well as gaining strength and resources in southern Libya. Islamic State is also likely to increase its toehold in the Puntland region of Somalia, impacting the civilian population and clashing with its bigger regional rival Al Shabaab, which will increase the lethality of its own attacks. ACAPS said Islamist armed groups are also expected to take advantage of the withdrawal of government troops from central Mali, gaining local recruits and further influence, while in Afghanistan the Taliban will consolidate rural strongholds and increased opium production will boost funding for armed groups. The fragmentation of armed groups in Central African Republic is expected to worsen the violence there, sending more refugees into Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo, where President Joseph Kabila is unlikely to leave power until 2019, fuelling frustration and violent protest, the report said. Militia groups previously focused on local grievances will likely become increasingly frustrated by the national, political, and socioeconomic situation and are likely to increase violence, particularly against government forces and institutions, the report said.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Friday urged senators to oppose a temporary spending bill because it fails to offer a long-term solution to secure retired coal miners’ benefits. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet announced when a final vote on the government spending legislation would take place. The House of Representatives voted for the funding bill on Thursday and went home. But in the Senate, Manchin and some other Democrats planned to delay a vote in hopes of adding a longer-term extension of expiring healthcare benefits for retired coal miners and their families.

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ABUJA (Reuters) - A police official defended a unit of the Nigeria Police Force that has been accused of human rights violations, saying many claims of brutality were unfounded and the country needed to be defended against violent crime. A social media campaign has called for the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to be disbanded. It has gathered pace in recent days as people shared stories of alleged maltreatment by the unit s officers, as well as photographs and videos. Lawmakers in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, voted on Tuesday to open an investigation into the allegations. Nigerian police have been dogged by accusations of human rights abuses for years. The police force has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. When you check most of these allegations ... it is somebody else that is saying that something happened to another person, said Abayomi Shogunle, who heads the Nigeria Police Force s complaints unit. We have reached out to all these people: tell us who this victim is, tell us the place where it took place, tell us the date and time. They are not forthcoming, said Shogunle, an assistant police commissioner. The social media campaign gathered pace after a video was circulated on social media of a youths chasing police after a man was allegedly shot dead by officers in the commercial capital, Lagos. Reuters could not verify whether the incident took place or details of when and where the video footage was filmed. The campaign, which has seen the EndSARS hashtag trending on Twitter, on Monday prompted the head of the police force to announce an immediate re-organisation of SARS nationwide and an investigation into abuse allegations. Shogunle said a specialist crime unit was needed in a country where kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in some regions, along with burglary. Clashes between semi-nomadic herdsmen and farmers over herding rights have also led to bloodshed in central and northern parts of the country. More than 30 people were killed in such clashes in a northeastern town last month. The question is what do we replace them with? Who will perform those tough, difficult, life-threatening duties that SARS are performing at the moment? he said. Street protests are also being planned in Nigerian cities. This has been going on for a long time and it s crazy that the people actually supposed to be your friend, to protect you, are the ones assaulting and abusing you, said Charles Oputa, who is planning to hold an event in the capital, Abuja. He said he did not believe the restructuring announced by the country s police chief would take place.

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch airline KLM said on Saturday it had refused carriage to the United States to seven passengers from predominately Muslim countries subject to a temporary immigration ban imposed by the Trump administration. A spokeswoman for KLM, part of the Franco-Dutch Air France KLM group, declined to specify which countries the passengers came from or where they were flying from. “Worldwide, we had seven passengers whom we had to inform that there was no point in us taking them to the U.S.,” said spokeswoman Manel Vrijenhoek. “There is still some lack of clarity about whom this ban affects.”

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder” in what they charge the government for medicines, and promised that would change, sending drugs stocks sharply lower. The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX slipped into negative territory after his remarks at a news conference spooked investors. The iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB.O) dropped 4 percent at its session low and ended down 3 percent, its largest daily percentage drop in three months. “When the president-elect says we’re going to negotiate drug pricing, you have to take that seriously, but at the same this is a complicated issue because there’s not going to be clarity on drug pricing reform anytime soon,” said Brad Loncar, manager of the Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF (CNCR.O). “When somebody that high profile says something that negative, people do not want to invest in it.” Trump has blasted other industries for charging the government too much, particularly defense companies, but has made only a few public statements about drug pricing since being elected. He briefly mentioned Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N), and United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) during the news conference and promised a border tax for companies producing products for U.S. consumers outside the United States. Back in May, then-candidate Trump said Amazon (AMZN.O) was also “getting away with murder,” referring to taxes in that case. The stock fell as much as 4 percent in the next few days but is up almost 12 percent since Trump’s remark. After his promise to bring down drug spending, the ARCA pharmaceutical index gave up as much as 2.6 percent and ended the day down 1.7 percent. The drug industry has been on edge for two years about the potential for more government pressure on pricing after sharp increases in the costs of some life-saving drugs drew scrutiny in the press and among lawmakers. The government is investigating Medicaid and Medicare overspending on Mylan NV’s (MYL.O) allergy treatment EpiPen, for instance. David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in New York, said negative comments on drug pricing trigger selling both from algorithms and investors who suffered from share drops when Democrat Hillary Clinton campaigned against healthcare cost increases. Trump’s campaign platform included allowing the Medicare healthcare program to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, which the law currently prohibits. He has also discussed making it easier to import drugs at cheaper prices. “We are going to start bidding. We are going to save billions of dollars over time,” Trump said. Medicare, which covers more than 55 million elderly or disabled Americans, spent $325 billion on medicines in 2015. Industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA President Stephen Ubl said “Medicines are purchased in a competitive marketplace where large, sophisticated purchasers aggressively negotiate lower prices.” He said the industry is “committed to working with President-elect Trump and Congress to improve American competitiveness and protect American jobs.” Roche Pharmaceuticals CEO Daniel O’Day said in an interview at a JPMorgan conference in San Francisco that Roche Holding AG (ROG.S) focuses on innovation and investing in research. Price increases over the past several years have been “responsible” and in the range of low to mid single digits, he said. At the same conference, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said it was premature to respond to Trump’s comments, when she was asked during an investor presentation. She said the industry should look again at how healthcare is set up as the government repeals the Affordable Care Act. Trump said he plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and replace it at about the same time. The news helped shares of hospitals, which are nervous about losing government payments for medical services. It hurt some health insurers, like Anthem Inc (ANTM.N), which sell plans on the government-run health insurance exchanges. Healthcare ETFs including the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) (XLV.P) and the IBB drew their highest trading volume since Nov. 10, in the wake of Trump’s election. Trading volume in XLV options jumped to 58,248 contracts, more than twice the average daily volume according to Reuters data. Healthcare sector stocks were the largest drag on the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq 100 .NDX.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Senior conservatives raised pressure on Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday to give up the finance ministry and instead impose his authority as head of Germany s next parliament, which will include a large bloc of far-right members. Schaeuble has held the ministry since 2009 but Sunday s election, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives bled support to the far right and found themselves needing to build an untried coalition, has raised doubts over whether he can keep the job. The post is coveted in particular by the pro-business, low-tax FDP, whose support Merkel is likely to need, together with the Greens, to assemble a working majority. The tone in the new assembly is also likely to be made more abrasive by the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which stunned the establishment on Sunday by becoming the first far-right party to enter parliament in more than half a century. A member of the executive committee of Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) said that, if Schaeuble were to become parliamentary speaker, it would be very important - because of the AfD and the climate in parliament . Guenther Oettinger, the European Union s budget commissioner and a conservative from the same region as Schaeuble, told the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper that Schaeuble would make an ideal candidate for the post. Schaeuble has refused to discuss his future after the election, beyond signaling his desire to stay in politics. The new lower house, the Bundestag, has until Oct. 24 to convene, and a new president of parliament must be chosen by then. The current president, CDU lawmaker Norbert Lammert, is not up for re-election. The Bundestag president cannot simultaneously hold a ministerial post. After Sunday s election, Merkel s conservative bloc remains the largest group in the lower house, but looks unable to renew its current alliance with the center-left Social Democrats, leaving a coalition with FDP and Greens as the only practical option. Securing the finance ministry would give the FDP the chance to cut taxes and also oppose the kind of closer euro zone integration proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron. Speaking at Schaeuble s 75th birthday celebration last week, Merkel paid tribute to his 45 years as a member of parliament, but gave no clear signal that she wanted to retain him in the post after the election. Confined to a wheelchair since being shot at an election rally in 1990, Schaeuble is widely respected in Germany as a steward of the nation s finances, and enjoyed Merkel s strong support during the euro zone debt crisis, which almost tore the currency bloc apart. But he is a hate figure in Greece and other parts of southern Europe for his insistence on austerity at a time of deep recession in return for euro zone bailout loans.

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China has summoned a British official in Beijing and lodged stern representations about recent comments from London expressing concern about a British rights activist being denied entry to Hong Kong, it said on Friday. Ben Rogers, a co-founder of Britain s ruling Conservative Party s Human Rights Commission, has been a vocal critic of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong s treatment of human rights activists, including that of jailed student protest leader Joshua Wong. He was denied entry to Hong Kong on Oct. 11. Britain said on Tuesday it had summoned the Chinese ambassador to express its concern. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated that Hong Kong is part of China, and the central government handles Hong Kong s foreign affairs and Beijing and Hong Kong decide who to let in or not as a matter of Chinese sovereignty. China has already summoned in an official from the British Embassy in Beijing, and lodged stern representations about Britain s recent series of wrong remarks and actions on this issue, Lu told a daily news briefing. I must to stress here that Hong Kong matters are purely an internal affair of China s. China will not permit any government, organization or individual to interfere in China s internal affairs in any way. Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is governed under a one country, two systems formula that promises it a higher degree of autonomy and freedom than on the mainland. Last week, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London needed an explanation from Hong Kong and Beijing about the treatment of Rogers.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the most powerful Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday pressed President-elect Donald Trump to keep the consumer financial watchdog agency’s current director, as rumors about a possible termination and replacement swirled. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Trump will break his campaign promise of “standing up for workers and consumers against the rigged system” if he fires the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) director, Richard Cordray, after taking office on Friday. “If Trump intends to keep any of his promises and un-rig the system, he would keep Rich Cordray,” the senator from New York said in a phone call with reporters. Created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, the CFPB has battled all sorts of lenders through regulation and litigation. It most recently participated in a settlement with Wells Fargo for $190 million for allegedly creating ghost accounts. By law, the president can only fire the agency’s director for cause, but a recent federal court decision says the U.S. chief executive should be able to dismiss the director at will. That decision has been stayed pending appeal. Some want Trump to not wait for the appeals court and fire Cordray for cause as soon as he becomes president. At the earliest, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is expected to announce in February whether it will review the case. Last week, Trump met with one of the agency’s biggest critics, former Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas, who is frequently mentioned as a top choice for to replace Cordray. Conservatives say Neugebauer would limit the reach of the CFPB, which they say has gone too far and does not have enough accountability. Congress is controlled by the Republican Party, and most Republicans would prefer having a commission in charge of the agency, instead of a director who both creates and enforces rules. During the call with reporters, Schumer characterized the possibility of making Neugebauer director as an attempt to dismantle the CFPB from the inside. Also on the call, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said removing Cordray would allow Trump to block the CFPB’s current work on rules on mandatory arbitration, payday lending and debt collection. Democrats like Warren, who came up with the idea of an agency to protect individuals’ finances after the 2007-09 crisis, say the CFPB is an important guard against fraud in mortgages, student loans and other consumer products.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is evaluating the situation surrounding U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn and is speaking to Vice President Mike Pence about it, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday. Spicer’s statement, read to reporters, left Flynn’s status in doubt. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway had said an hour earlier that Flynn had the full confidence of the president.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday said he has been investigating for six months who posted significant numbers of fake comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission in its review of net neutrality rules. The FCC got more than 22 million comments during its review and several researchers found evidence that significant numbers of submissions were fake. Schneiderman said Tuesday the “FCC has refused multiple requests for crucial evidence.” The FCC did not immediately comment. On Tuesday FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed reversing the Obama era net neutrality rules.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan (Reuters) - Kansas Republican and state treasurer Ron Estes on Tuesday defeated Democrat civil rights attorney James Thompson to win a Congressional seat in a race that became an unlikely testing ground of an early backlash to President Donald Trump. Estes got about 53 percent of the vote, preliminary results showed, to win the Kansas 4th congressional district seat held by Republican Mike Pompeo from 2011 until he vacated it this year, to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency. “Even though we heard a lot from the national media and from people outside this state that we were not going to be able to win this race, we showed that we are still a Republican seat,” Estes told supporters at a rally in Wichita. “And we’re going to make sure we change things in Washington.”  Democrats had hoped to capitalize on Trump’s poor approval rating and dissatisfaction among moderates with Republican Governor Sam Brownback to win back one of 24 seats they need nationwide to reclaim the House. The seat, which Pompeo won with nearly 61 percent of the vote in November, looked until recently like a lock for Estes, the state treasurer since 2011. But the race became surprisingly competitive and drove Republican leaders into a last minute push for Estes. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the Kansas caucus in the Republican presidential primary, campaigned for Estes over the weekend. President Trump, who carried the 4th district with about 57 percent of the general election vote in 2016, also pushed for Estes, with a message on social media network Twitter expressing support for his fellow Republican earlier in the day. The last Democrat to hold the Kansas 4th congressional district seat was Dan Glickman, who served nine terms before becoming agriculture secretary in 1995. Thompson made the race a lot closer than people would have expected earlier this year, said his campaign manager Chris Pumpelly. “People were writing us off the whole time,” he said. “They said it was a no-go, but we proved them all wrong. We made this race absolutely competitive and we are very proud of it.”

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BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Turkey was fast abandoning the rule of law and vowed to push her EU partners to consider suspending or ending its accession talks at a meeting in October. Less than three weeks before a German national election, she spelled out her intentions clearly to the Bundestag lower house of parliament after sharpening her rhetoric on Sunday and saying Turkey should not become an EU member. Those comments, made in a televised debate with her Social Democrat (SPD) election rival, drew charges of populism from Ankara. It was the latest of a series of spats between Merkel and President Tayyip Erdogan over the last two years which has led to a serious deterioration in relations. Turkey is moving away from the path of the rule of law at a very fast speed, Merkel said, adding her government would do everything it could to secure the release of Germans detained in Turkey, who Berlin says are innocent. The Foreign Ministry said last week 12 German citizens, four of them with dual citizenship, had been detained in Turkey on political charges. One has since been released. The ministry updated its travel advice on Tuesday and said that incomprehensible arrests were taking place all over Turkey, including regions frequented by tourists. Venting her growing frustration, Merkel said a rethink of Germany s and the EU s relations with Turkey was needed. We will also - and I will suggest this takes place at the EU meeting in October - discuss future relations with Turkey, including the question of suspending or ending talks on accession, she said. I will push for a decisive stand ... But we need to coordinate and work with our partners, she said, adding that it would damage the EU if Erdogan saw member states embroiled in an argument. That would dramatically weaken Europe s position. Although Turkey s foreign minister has said EU membership remains a strategic goal, the EU has turned very skeptical - especially since Erdogan s crackdown on opponents after a failed coup in July 2016. A European Commission spokesman said on Monday Turkey was taking giant strides away from Europe. Although her conservative party has long opposed Turkish membership of the bloc, Merkel has staked a good deal on maintaining relations with its NATO ally. She has repeatedly defended an EU-Turkey migrant deal she championed last year because it helped to stem the flow of refugees fleeing war in the Middle East to western Europe. Merkel said despite her own reservations, she had gone along with EU accession talks agreed by her SPD predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, mainly to ensure continuity in foreign policy. Erdogan accuses Germany of harboring plotters behind the 2016 coup attempt. Turkey has arrested about 50,000 people in its purges of state institutions and the armed forces. Ankara says the crackdown is necessary to ensure national security but many Western countries and human rights groups say it is an attempt by Erdogan to stifle all dissent. Erdogan also won sweeping new powers in a referendum in April. In the runup to the German election little divides the main parties, who currently share power in a grand coalition, on Turkey. SPD Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in July said Germans should be careful if they traveled to Turkey and threatened steps that could hurt investment there.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Two 14-year-old boys from northern England who were arrested by British counter-terrorism detectives have been charged with conspiracy to murder, police said on Wednesday. The teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were arrested on Saturday and are due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on Thursday.

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(In this July 27 story, corrects paragraph 7 to reflect that Zarda died in a BASE-jumping accident, not a skydiving accident) By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) - The Trump administration told a U.S. appeals court that federal law does not ban discrimination against gay employees, a sharp reversal of the position former President Barack Obama took on a key civil rights issue. The U.S. Department of Justice, in a friend of the court brief, told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday that Congress never intended Title VII, which bans sex discrimination in the workplace, to apply to gay workers. The department also said the court owed no deference to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces Title VII and has argued since 2012 that the law bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The brief came hours after President Donald Trump said he would ban transgender people from serving in the military. That would reverse a 2016 policy adopted by Obama. Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said the brief was consistent with rulings by 10 federal appeals courts and “reaffirms the Department’s fundamental belief that the courts cannot expand the law beyond what Congress has provided.” The department’s brief was in support of New York skydiving company Altitude Express Inc in a lawsuit filed by a former employee, Donald Zarda. Zarda claimed he lost his job as a skydiving instructor after he told a customer he was gay and she complained. He died in a BASE-jumping accident after filing the lawsuit. In April, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel dismissed Zarda’s case, citing a prior ruling that said discrimination against gay workers is not a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. The full court, which can overturn the prior decision, agreed in May to review the case. The issue could reach the U.S. Supreme Court in a different case brought by a former security guard at a Georgia hospital who claims she was harassed and forced to quit because she is gay. Earlier this month, LGBT rights group Lambda Legal, which represents the former security guard, said it would ask the high court to review the case. On Wednesday, the Justice Department said employers engage in sex discrimination only when they treat male and female workers differently. Objecting to homosexuality does not depend on sex, the department said, but on moral or religious beliefs. “Of course, if an employer fired only gay men but not gay women (or vice versa), that would be prohibited by Title VII,” the department wrote, “but precisely because it would be discrimination based on sex, not sexual orientation.” Zarda’s lawyer, Gregory Antollino, said on Thursday that the department was making the same arguments the Supreme Court rejected in cases involving discrimination against workers in interracial relationships.

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The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn’t get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare![0654 EDT] - Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it! [1240 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, may find that neither negotiations nor economic and military pressure can force North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, and that the United States has no choice but to try to contain it and deter North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from ever using a nuclear weapon. North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 2, describing it as an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, a dramatic escalation of its stand-off with the United States and its allies. U.S. officials declined to discuss operational planning, but acknowledge that no existing plan for a preemptive strike could promise to prevent a brutal counterattack by North Korea, which has thousands of artillery pieces and rockets trained on Seoul. In an implicit recognition that the military options against the North are unpalatable at best and pyrrhic at worst, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last week told reporters: We are never out of diplomatic solutions. U.S. and Asian officials believe it is necessary to try negotiations and more economic pressure but concede these are unlikely to curb, let alone eliminate, the nuclear and missile programs that North Korean considers essential to its survival. That leaves Washington and its allies in South Korea, Japan and elsewhere with an unwelcome question: Is there any way to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea, one that is contained and deterred from using its nuclear weaponry? Trump declined to answer that question at a news conference on Thursday, saying he would not disclose his negotiating strategy publicly and adding it would be a very sad day for North Korea if the U.S. military settles the matter. Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable, Trump said. Still, a senior Trump administration official said it is unclear whether the Cold War-era deterrence model that Washington used with the Soviet Union could be applied to a rogue state like North Korea, adding: I don t think the president wants to take that chance. We are very concerned that North Korea might not be able to be deterred, the official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity shortly after Trump s remarks. Among the U.S. options to strengthen its deterrent is the long-planned modernization of America s aging nuclear forces that would assure that North Korea would be destroyed if it fired a nuclear-tipped missile at the United States, a U.S. military base, Japan, or South Korea. Another is stepped-up investment in U.S. missile defenses, particularly testing, research and development of technologies that could defeat a significant number of incoming missiles. Both steps would need to avoid triggering new arms races with Beijing and Moscow, experts say. Another factor weighing on Pentagon planners is their readiness for a major conventional conflict after 16 years of war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. There has been no sign the White House, which has been cool to the idea of talks and hopes pressure can change the North s calculus, is ready to settle for a containment strategy. Despite pessimism about talks, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said there was a chance that economic pressure, especially from China, combined with an agreement to negotiate could convince Pyongyang to limit its nuclear arsenal or even sign the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. Signing the CTBT would given the North tacit admission to the nuclear club but end its testing program, the official said. That, along with assured destruction, might be the best that could be done. The remaining question, however, is whether Trump would be willing to settle for that. Discipline and steadiness are not words one usually uses in a sentence that also has the name Donald Trump, said Robert Einhorn, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea and is now at the Brookings Institution think tank. Would he over time recognize that he may have no choice? Frank Jannuzi, president of the Mansfield Foundation, which promotes U.S.-Asia relations, is more optimistic. Does he have the patience to manage a difficult process of deterrence and containment against the (North) rather than doing something impulsive? I think so, he said. Some of his deals have taken years to come to fruition.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. senators John McCain and Marco Rubio won their party’s nominations on Tuesday to seek re-election in Arizona and Florida in November, as both of the high profile politicians defeated insurgent challengers. McCain, the 2008 failed Republican presidential candidate, now faces a spirited challenge in Arizona from Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011 and wants to move to the Senate. McCain has said this year’s race could be the toughest of a political career spanning more than three decades. In advancing to the general election, the 80-year-old McCain handily beat ex-state Senator Kelli Ward, 47, a conservative Tea Party activist and a follower of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Like McCain, Rubio also is girding for a potentially tough challenge on Nov. 8. Also in Florida, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz overcame a challenger - and the embarrassment of being stripped last month of her job as head of the Democratic National Committee - and will get a shot at a seventh House term in the Nov. 8 general elections. She beat law professor Tim Canova, an outspoken Wall Street critic aligned with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. The non-traditional campaigns of Trump and Sanders, who exceeded expectations in his failed Democratic White House bid, spurred speculation that other insurgent politicians could make an impact this year. But that didn’t happen in either of the closely watched nominating races in Florida and Arizona. Rubio, who abandoned his presidential campaign in March, cleared the initial hurdle in his battle for a second six-year term in the U.S. Senate. He defeated novice politician Carlos Beruff, a millionaire homebuilder, who embraced Trump. U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy, a Democrat, won his party’s Senate nomination on Tuesday, and is expected to give g Rubio a tough fight, especially if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads Trump in Florida. There is speculation that Rubio might still harbor presidential ambitions after media reports this week that he had refused to commit to serving all six years of a Senate term if he were re-elected. Trump has endorsed McCain and Rubio in their re-election bids even though he has rocky relations with both. How McCain and Rubio fare could have a big say in whether Republicans can defy expectations and maintain majority control of the Senate after November’s election. “The balance of the Senate and the outcome of the presidential election are all hanging on Florida,” Rubio predicted in a fundraising appeal late on Tuesday. Trump offended McCain and many other Republicans last year by suggesting the maverick senator was anything but a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War after his airplane was shot down during a bombing mission. In March, Trump ended Rubio’s presidential run by trouncing him in the Florida primary to cap a race in which the New York businessman taunted the first-term senator as “little Marco.” Rubio fired back, insulting Trump on everything from his hair color and the size of his hands to misspelled words in tweets. During their re-election efforts, both McCain and Rubio have offered support for Trump as the party’s White House nominee and steered clear of attacks on that might antagonize Trump’s core supporters. But they have tiptoed around Trump, mainly out of concern that his provocative comments on illegal immigration, Muslims and U.S. support for NATO could alienate moderate and independent voters in their states. (This version of the story corrects McCain’s failed presidential bid in second paragraph to 2008, from 2012)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has engaged in an unconstitutional practice of searching without a warrant the phones and laptops of Americans who are stopped at the border, a lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleged. Ten U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, saying the searches and prolonged confiscation of their electronic devices violate privacy and free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution. DHS could not be immediately reached for comment. The lawsuit comes as the number of searches of electronic devices has surged in recent years, alarming civil rights advocates. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported in April that searches increased from 8,500 in fiscal year 2015 to about 19,000 in fiscal year 2016. The agency has conducted nearly 15,000 in the first half of fiscal year 2017. The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, is being brought by travelers including a military veteran, a NASA engineer, two journalists and a computer programmer. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, who are representing the travelers, said that several of the plaintiffs are Muslim or minorities. Suhaib Allababidi, a U.S. citizen who lives in Texas and a plaintiff in the case, said in an interview that he was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol on Jan. 21 at the Dallas airport after returning from a business trip to Dubai. Allababidi said he declined to unlock his personal phone for the officers after allowing them to search his separate business phone. The officers confiscated both his phones, Allababidi said, and returned his business phone to him two months later. The government has still not returned his personal phone after more than seven months, he said. “You are left in the dark with no answers,” Allababidi said. “Will I get my phone back, did I do anything wrong? ... They took my phone, and that’s all I know.” Generally, U.S. law enforcement is required to obtain a warrant before it can search an American’s electronic devices. But a so-called border search exception allows federal authorities to conduct searches within 100 miles (160 km) of a U.S. border without a warrant. In April, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Senator Rand Paul introduced legislation that would require a warrant before federal agents search devices at the border that belong to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, except in some emergency circumstances.

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NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage visited Donald Trump at his home on Saturday, after suggesting he could act as a go-between to help smooth British relations with the U.S. president-elect. British Prime Minister Theresa May is not expected to meet the incoming leader until early next year and Farage has suggested her criticisms of Trump in the early days of the campaign could damage ties with Washington. “We’re just tourists!” Farage, head of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), told reporters as he waited for an elevator to take him up to the meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. He later tweeted a photograph of himself with Trump standing in front of a pair of golden doors and smiling broadly, the president-elect giving the camera a thumbs-up. “It was a great honor to spend time with @realDonaldTrump,” Farage tweeted. “He was relaxed and full of good ideas. I’m confident he will be a good President.” Trump’s election campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said: “I think they enjoy each other’s company, and they actually had a chance to talk about freedom and winning and what this all means for the world.” In a separate photograph posted on Twitter, UKIP donor Arron Banks, Breitbart London Editor in Chief Raheem Kassam, and Gerry Gunster, an American whose advocacy firm worked on the Brexit campaign, were also pictured with Trump and Farage. May - who spoke to Trump by phone on Thursday - and her predecessor David Cameron last year described Trump as “divisive” and “wrong” over his call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. At that time he was not considered likely to win the presidency. In a leaked diplomatic telegram, sent on Nov. 9 and printed in the Sunday Times newspaper, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, said he believed Britain had built better relationships with Trump’s team than other foreign diplomats. “(Trump) is above all an outsider and an unknown quantity, whose campaign pronouncements may reveal his instincts, but will surely evolve and, particularly, be open to outside influence if pitched right,” he said. “We should be well placed to do this.” While the British government has congratulated Trump on his election, the head of the opposition, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said he should “grow up” on the immigration issue and recognize that the U.S. economy depends on migrant workers. “The treatment of Mexico by the United States, just as much as its absurd and abusive language towards Muslims, is something that has to be challenged and should be challenged,” Corbyn, whose wife is Mexican, told the BBC on Sunday. UKIP, which has only one member of parliament in London, said Farage and Trump spent more than an hour discussing Trump’s victory, global politics and Brexit. A UKIP official has suggested Farage could even be the next ambassador to the United States, but British media reported that May’s office rejected the idea of any role for Farage, citing unnamed sources who described him as an “irrelevance”. A day after Trump’s election victory, Farage called on the real estate mogul to reverse “loathsome” Barack Obama’s policy by making Britain his top priority. Farage said he had been pleased at Trump’s “very positive reaction” to the idea that a bust of former British prime minister Winston Churchill be put back in the Oval Office. He has also joked about sexual assault allegations against Trump, urging him to “schmooze” May but not touch her. He proposed that in any meetings between the British and American leaders, he could attend to be the “responsible adult to make sure everything is OK.” Farage, who spoke at a Trump rally during the election campaign, had predicted the former reality TV host would tap into the same dissatisfaction among voters that led to Britain deciding on June 23 to leave the European Union. Trump made repeated references to Brexit during his campaign, saying it had highlighted the desire for change among voters frustrated with traditional politics. (Story refiles to add dropped word “the” in first paragraph.)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should consider legislation that would regulate “bump stocks,” the attachments that allowed the Las Vegas gunman to fire his semi-automatic rifles more rapidly, U.S. Senator John Cornyn said on Wednesday. Cornyn, the second-ranking Senate Republican, told reporters that if the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) does not have the authority to regulate bump stocks, “maybe that’s something we ought to consider giving them.” Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was urging panel Chairman Charles Grassley to call a hearing on bump stocks. “I’d like to hear from the ATF who previously during the Obama administration said they didn’t feel like they had the authority to regulate those. I’m not sure I agree with that,” the Texas senator said. On Oct. 1, a gunman in Las Vegas opened fire at an outdoor music festival killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500 others before killing himself, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The attachments are legal and allow semiautomatic rifles to operate as if they were fully automatic machine guns, which are heavily restricted in the United States. Slide Fire Solutions, the maker of bump stocks, has announced that it is restarting sales of the product after a pause following the Las Vegas shooting.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said after talks with top Chinese diplomats and defense chiefs on Wednesday that both sides call on North Korea to “halt its illegal nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile tests.” “We reiterated to China that they have a diplomatic responsibility to exert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime if they want to prevent further escalation in the region,” Tillerson told reporters.

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States told Russia at the United Nations on Wednesday that it is isolating itself by continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Britain said its scientists found sarin was used in a deadly toxic gas attack on Syrian civilians last week. Russia is set to block a push by Western powers at the United Nations later on Wednesday to bolster support for international inquiries into the April 4 toxic gas attack in Syria. It will be Moscow’s eighth veto in support of the Assad government since the Syrian war began six years ago. “To my colleagues from Russia - you are isolating yourselves from the international community every time one of Assad’s planes drop another barrel bomb on civilians and every time Assad tries to starve another community to death,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, told the U.N. Security Council. During a heated Security Council meeting, Russia’s deputy U.N. envoy Vladimir Safronkov told the 15-member body that Western countries were wrong to blame Assad for the attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun. “I’m amazed that this was the conclusion. No one has yet visited the site of the crime. How do you know that?” he said. The attack prompted the United States to strike a Syrian air base with cruise missiles and worsened relations between the United States and Russia. President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday trust had eroded between the two countries under President Donald Trump, as Moscow delivered an unusually hostile reception to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a face-off over Syria. Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told the Security Council that samples taken from the site of the gas attack, in a rebel-held area of northern Syria, have tested positive for the nerve gas sarin. He accused Russia of siding with “a murderous, barbaric criminal, rather than with their international peers.” Safronkov, who demanded Rycroft look at him while he was speaking, responded: “I cannot accept that you insult Russia.” Haley also accused Iran of being “Assad’s chief accomplice in the regime’s horrific acts,” adding: “Iran is dumping fuel on the flames of this war in Syria so it can expand its own reach.” Western powers blame the gas attack, which killed scores of civilians - many of them children - on Assad’s forces. Syria’s government has denied responsibility for the attack, which prompted a U.S. strike on a Syrian air base. Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said Syria had sent dozens of letters to the Security Council, some detailing “the smuggling of sarin from Libya through Turkey on a civilian air plane by using a Syrian citizen.” “Two litres of sarin were transported from Libya through Turkey to terrorist groups in Syria,” he said, adding that the government does “not have these weapons.” U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura warned the Security Council on Wednesday that fragile progress in peace talks was now “in grave danger.” (This version of the story has been refiled to fix garbled words in first paragraph)

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(Reuters) - Florida Power & Light said on Wednesday it had provided power to part of a nursing home that housed six residents who died after the facility lost electricity due to Hurricane Irma, adding that it was not on a county priority list for emergency power restoration. Parts of the facility itself were energized by FPL, I can t give you anything more specific than that at this point, FPL spokesman Rob Gould told a news conference, referring to the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills. Two elderly residents were found dead at the nursing home, and four later died at a hospital. Police opened a criminal investigation at the nursing home in Broward County, which is north of Miami. Some residents were evacuated on early Sunday morning and some woke up feeling sick at the center, which had been without air conditioning, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said. Gould said FPL met with Broward County officials in March before the storm season to discuss what facilities would be prioritized for power restoration this year. They identified which facilities were to be critical top infrastructure facilities, this was not one of them, he said about the Hollywood Hills center. Broward County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. FPL, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc, has said earlier this week that the company prioritizes restoring power to critical facilities such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communications centers, water treatment plants, transportation and shelter. Gould said the incident at Hollywood Hills emphasizes that all facilities need to have backup plans in case power is lost during storms. Memorial Regional Hospital, a facility across from the nursing home, was identified as a top priority by the county and had power, Gould said. Florida has more than 680 nursing homes that house about 73,000 residents, the Florida Health Care Association said.

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WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand s Labour Party on Thursday promised no surprise new taxes until 2020 and improved its position as frontrunner in a national election, with a poll showing its support edging up, threatening the National Party s ten-year grip on power. The result was at odds with a shock survey by another pollster this week that put the centre-right National in the lead and underscored the unusually volatile nature of the race to the vote on Sept. 23. Backing for the Labour Party rose 1 point to 44 percent, the One News-Colmar Brunton poll showed, while support for the National Party also gained 1 point, putting it at 40 percent. In another positive sign for Labour, its potential coalition partner, the Green Party, recovered, rising 2 points to 7 percent, comfortably above the 5 percent threshold needed to gain seats in Parliament. The nationalist New Zealand First Party fell 3 points to 6 percent, making it less likely that Labour would need the populist party to form a coalition government after the election. Poll results have been swinging wildly and a separate Newshub-Reid poll on Tuesday had shown a surprise surge for National, giving it a robust lead of almost ten points. The National Party has vowed to support free trade as global protectionism rises, in particular, by championing the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, which Labour has said it would renegotiate. An average of polls released by Radio New Zealand on Wednesday, which included the results of Newshub s shock poll, put the two parties at almost even support. Thursday s poll was published on the same day Labour moved to stem criticism of a plan to set up an expert panel to consider new levies, such as a capital gains tax. To avoid any doubt, no one will be affected by any tax changes arising from the outcomes of the Working Group until 2021, said Labour finance spokesman Grant Robertson, in a statement. As rivalry has heated up, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday called National desperate liars in response to an advertisement saying the centre-left party would bring in new taxes and subverting its slogan, Let s Do This into Let s Tax This . Investors have been made jittery by the uncertainty over who will govern, but currency reaction to the latest poll was muted. The New Zealand dollar - the word s 11th most traded currency in 2016 - softened slightly to $0.7240 from $0.7250 shortly before the poll results.

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(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to honor the longstanding “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a major diplomatic boost for Beijing which brooks no criticism of its claim to neighboring Taiwan. The following are some of the major developments in U.S.-Sino relations since Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Dec 2 - Trump speaks by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, a move that is likely to infuriate China, which considers the self-ruled island its own, and complicate U.S. relations with Beijing. China lodges swift protest, blaming Taiwan for the petty move. Dec 11 - Trump says the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of “one China,” questioning nearly four decades of U.S. policy. Dec 12 - China expresses “serious concern” after Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-held stance that Taiwan is part of “one China”. Dec 14 - In a veiled warning to Trump, China’s ambassador to the United States says Beijing will never bargain with Washington over issues involving its national sovereignty or territorial integrity. Jan 11 - Taiwan scrambles jets and navy ships after a group of Chinese warships, led by its sole aircraft carrier, sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the latest sign of heightened tension between Beijing and the island. Jan 12 - Trump’s then nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, says China should be denied access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea, describing the placing of military assets there as “akin to Russia’s taking Crimea” from Ukraine. Feb 3 - China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, tells Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, that China hopes it can work with the United States to manage and control disputes and sensitive problems. Feb 9 - Trump breaks the ice with Xi in a letter that says he looks forward to working with him to develop relations. Feb 9 - Trump changes tack and agrees to honor the “one China” policy during a phone call with Xi.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Trent Franks said on Friday that he would resign from Congress effective immediately, instead of the Jan. 31 date he previously had set following the announcement of a probe into accusations of sexual harassment against him. “Last night, my wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C., due to an ongoing ailment. After discussing options with my family, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for our family now would be for me to tender my previous resignation effective today, December 8th, 2017,” Franks said in an emailed statement. Late on Thursday, Franks, who has represented a district in the Phoenix, Arizona, area since 2003, issued a statement saying that two women on his staff complained that he had discussed with them his efforts to find a surrogate mother, but he denied he had ever “physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff.” The news website Politico on Friday quoted unnamed sources that it was not clear to the women whether he was asking about impregnating them through sexual intercourse or in vitro fertilization. The Associated Press reported that a former aide to Franks said the congressman offered her $5 million to carry his child. Reuters has not confirmed either report. The House of Representatives Ethics Committee said on Thursday it had opened an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment against Franks. The 60-year-old lawmaker also said that he and his wife “have long struggled with infertility.” Franks’ departure comes just days after Democratic Representative John Conyers of Michigan announced his immediate retirement amid sexual harassment allegations that he has denied. On Thursday, Democratic Senator Al Franken announced on the Senate floor that he too would resign his Minnesota seat amid harassment claims.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ban transgender people from the U.S. military, a move appealing to some in his conservative political base but creating uncertainty about the fate of thousands of transgender service members. The surprise announcement by Trump, who as a presidential candidate last year vowed to fight for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, came in a series of morning Twitter posts. It drew condemnation from rights groups and some lawmakers in both parties as politically motivated discrimination but was praised by conservative activists and some Republicans. The administration has not determined whether transgender individuals already serving in the military would be immediately thrown out, a point the White House and Pentagon have yet to decide, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. A transgender ban would reverse Democratic former President Barack Obama’s policy and halts years of efforts to eliminate barriers to military service based on sexual orientation or gender identity. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump tweeted, without naming any of the generals or experts. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” he said. Sanders said Trump had “extensive discussions with his national security team,” and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was informed after the president made the decision on Tuesday. “This was about military readiness,” Sanders told a briefing. “This was about unit cohesion. This was about resources within the military, and nothing more.” The Pentagon earlier referred questions about Trump’s decision to the White House. Critics said the health costs of caring for transgender service members were a tiny portion of the military’s healthcare budget and Trump’s policy change was based on prejudice. His action unleashed a torrent of legal threats from civil liberties advocates seeking plaintiffs willing to challenge the ban in court and sparked a protest by hundreds who rallied outside an armed forces recruiting station in Manhattan’s Times Square. “We are in a crisis. This is a dark day for everyone,” Brad Hoylman, New York’s sole openly gay state senator, said as he addressed the crowd, which carried “Resist” signs amid chants of: “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Trump’s tweet caught some White House officials by surprise. A senior administration official said Trump had been determined to act for a while but the question was the timing, with advisers split on whether to conduct reviews before announcing the move. The announcement at least temporarily changed the subject in Washington, where Trump’s administration faces investigations into his presidential campaign’s contacts with Russia and has struggled to win major legislative victories. It was not the first time Trump has targeted transgender people since taking office in January. In February, he rescinded protections for transgender students put in place by Obama that had let them use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman John McCain - the most prominent military veteran in Congress, who was a Navy pilot and prisoner of war during the Vietnam War - called Trump’s announcement unclear and inappropriate until a Pentagon study on the issue is completed and reviewed by Mattis, the military leadership and lawmakers. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council advocacy group, was among those praising Trump, saying, “Our troops shouldn’t be forced to endure hours of transgender ‘sensitivity’ classes and politically correct distractions.” Under Obama, the Pentagon last year announced it was ending its ban on transgender people serving openly, calling the prohibition outdated. The Defense Department had been expected to begin formally allowing transgender people to enlist this year. But Mattis on June 30 approved a six-month delay in that step. Transgender service members already number about 2,500 active-duty personnel, with about 1,500 more in the military reserves, according to a RAND Corporation think tank study cited last year by Obama’s defense secretary, Ash Carter. “To choose service members on other grounds than military qualifications is social policy and has no place in our military,” Carter said on Wednesday, noting the existing ranks of transgender individuals serving “capably and honorably.” Advocacy groups said Trump’s policy was open to legal challenge under the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Joshua Block said Trump had rejected the “basic humanity” of transgender service members. “There are no cost or military readiness drawbacks associated with allowing trans people to fight for their country,” Block said. “The president is trying to score cheap political points on the backs of military personnel who have put their lives on the line for their country.” The House of Representatives’ top Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, noted that a Pentagon-commissioned study determined the cost of providing medically necessary transition-related care involving transgender service members would amount to about one-100th of 1 percent of the military’s healthcare budget. The study put the cost at $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year of the more than $50 billion the Defense Department spends on healthcare. “Once again, President Trump has shown his conduct is driven not by honor, decency, or national security, but by raw prejudice,” Pelosi said. Retired Colonel Sheri Swokowski, 67, the highest-ranking openly transgender veteran, joined the criticism. “Transgender people are serving today knowing that their leader frankly doesn’t trust them,” she said. “The bottom line is that this does great harm to people who simply want to serve their country.” U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican whose son is transgender, said on Twitter: “No American, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be prohibited from honor + privilege of serving our nation.” Transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner defended “patriotic transgender Americans” in the military and asked Trump on Twitter, “What happened to your promise to fight for them?” Canada’s military also took to Twitter on Wednesday to say it welcomes citizens “of all sexual orientations and gender identities,” adding the hashtag #DiversityIsOurStrength. But Vicky Hartzler, a Republican congresswoman, praised Trump for changing Obama’s “costly and damaging policy.” The U.S. military’s ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces ended under Obama in 2011 after Congress passed legislation in 2010 reversing a law dubbed “don’t ask, don’t tell” that had forced the ouster of thousands of service members and others to hide their sexual orientation. The Pentagon under Obama also opened all combat roles in the military to women. The U.S. military at times has been in the vanguard of social progress. Trump’s action came on the 69th anniversary of Democratic President Harry Truman racially integrating the armed forces, years before the 1950s and 1960s civil rights battles.

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ANKARA (Reuters) - Exhausted and exposed to freezing cold, survivors of a weekend earthquake in western Iran begged authorities for food and shelter on Tuesday, saying aid was slow to reach them. Iranian officials called off rescue operations earlier in the day on the grounds that there was little chance of finding more survivors from the quake, which killed at least 530 people and injured thousands of others. It was Iran s deadliest earthquake in more than a decade. Survivors, many left homeless by Sunday s 7.3 magnitude quake that struck villages and towns in Kermansheh province along the mountainous border with Iraq, struggled through another bleak day on Tuesday in need of food, water and shelter. Iran has so far declined offers of foreign assistance to deal with the aftermath of the tremor, which officials said damaged 30,000 homes and completely destroyed two villages. The U.S. government expressed condolences to the Iranian people despite President Donald Trump s aggressive policy towards the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported. We are hungry. We are cold. We are homeless. We are alone in this world, a weeping Maryam Ahang, who lost 10 members of her family in the hardest hit town of Sarpol-e Zahab, told Reuters by telephone. My home is now a pile of mud and broken tiles. I slept in the park last night. It is cold and I am scared. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged state agencies on Tuesday to speed up aid efforts. President Hassan Rouhani paid a visit to the stricken region, promising to resolve the problems in the shortest time . Thousands of people huddled in makeshift camps while many others chose to spend another cold night in the open because they feared more tremors after some 230 aftershocks. In some areas, no building was left standing and those that were had been deserted for fear they could come crashing down at any moment. Houses in impoverished Iranian villages are often made of concrete blocks or mudbrick that can quickly crumble and collapse in a strong quake. State television aired footage of weeping villagers carrying away bodies wrapped in bloodied blankets and bed sheets and scrabbling with their bare hands through rubble in search of friends and relatives. It was my cousin s birthday ... All the relatives were there ... like 50 people. But now almost all are dead, Reza, who refused to give his full name, told Reuters from Sarpol-e Zahab town. He lost 34 members of his family on Sunday. We spent two nights in the cold. Where is the aid? On the Iraq side of the frontier, nine people were killed and over 550 injured, all in the northern Kurdish provinces. Television showed rescue workers combing through the rubble of dozens of villages immediately after the quake. But by Tuesday morning Iranian officials said there was no longer any likelihood of finding survivors and called off the search. Hospitals in nearby provinces took in many of the injured, state television said, airing footage of survivors waiting to be treated. Hundreds of critically injured were dispatched to hospitals in Tehran. Iran s Red Crescent said emergency shelter had been provided for thousands of homeless people but a lack of electricity and water, as well as blocked roads, hindered aid supply efforts. People in some villages are still in dire need of food, water and shelter, said Faramraz Akbari, governor of Qasr-e Shirin county in Kermanshah province. State TV showed dozens of green and white tents dotting Sarpol-e Zahab, many containing two or three families. Groups clustered around bonfires trying to warm themselves. It is cold. My children are freezing. We have water and food but no tent. The quake did not kill us but the cold weather will kill us, a woman in her 30s said. The mayor of the city of Ezgeleh said 80 percent of its buildings had collapsed. Survivors desperately needed tents with elderly people and babies as young as a one-year-old sleeping in the cold for two straight nights. People are hungry and thirsty, a local man told ISNA news agency. There is no electricity. Last night I cried when I saw children with no food or shelter. Some people were angry that among the collapsed buildings were homes built under an affordable housing scheme initiated in 2011 by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The people should build their own houses. They build better houses than those built under projects and schemes, Rouhani said in Kermanshah, state TV reported. I promise you, those responsible will be punished. Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 quake in 2003 that reduced the historic southeastern city of Bam to dust and killed some 31,000 people.

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AMSTERDAM/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Burundi said on Friday it will refuse to cooperate with an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into war crimes prosecutors suspect were committed by forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza s government against their political opponents. The court ordered a formal investigation on Thursday into crimes committed between April 2015 to October 2017. But experts say it will be hard for ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to gather evidence without support from Burundi s government, which last month became the first to withdraw from the Hague-based court amid waning support from African nations. An earlier ICC case in Kenya fell apart due to opposition from the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Like Burundi, Kenya and South Africa have threatened to withdraw from the court, arguing that it disproportionately targets Africans. The government rejects that decision (to investigate) and reiterates its firm determination that it will not cooperate, said Burundi s Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana. Unrest has gripped Burundi since Nkurunziza said in April 2015 he would seek a third term in office, triggering protests and a crackdown by security forces. He won re-election that July but opponents boycotted the vote, saying his decision to stand violated the constitution and the terms of a peace agreement that had ended a war in the central African country. The ICC says that under international law it still has jurisdiction over crimes committed while Burundi was a member. Judges said Bensouda should investigate whether crimes against humanity were committed including murder, torture, rape and persecution. Government forces are suspected to have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 400,000 during the crackdown. Human rights groups say the number killed could be far higher. Human rights groups and opposition politicians in Burundi welcomed the court s decision. Charles Nditije, the exiled head of Burundi s opposition platform CNARED, called the move a victory for justice .... for those who want the return of peace and rule of law to Burundi. Armel Niyongere, a Burundian lawyer representing families of the victims, said he would assist Bensouda s investigation. Legal experts said Bensouda may be unable to bring any suspects to the Hague as long as Nkurunziza remains in power. I suspect that it will be very challenging for the ICC to access ... evidence in Burundi said Berlin-based international criminal justice lawyer Angela Mudukuti. Bensouda s decision was courageous and she will likely seek to use evidence obtained by interviewing refugees who have fled to neighboring Tanzania and Rwanda, said Karine Bonneau, a senior official at the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights. She had very little choice but to open an investigation given the gravity of the crimes, she said. Others said the prosecution was largely symbolic. Bensouda s job is in part to deter future crimes, said Thijs Bouwknegt, an Africa expert at the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. If she acts like some super human rights watchdog and names and shames people I think this may be effective, he said.

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MOSCOW/ASTANA (Reuters) - A Moscow-backed congress of all Syria s ethnic groups may take place in Russia and begin working on a new constitution as early as next month, the news agency RIA reported on Monday, citing a source familiar with the situation. The congress, which President Vladimir Putin first mentioned earlier this month, may take place in mid-November at Russia s Black Sea resort of Sochi, RIA said. The idea of a congress had United Nations backing, a senior Russian negotiator on Syria said. Russia s Hmeymim air base in Syria also might be used, he added. This matter is still being discussed, Alexander Lavrentyev, the head of the Russian delegation at Syria talks in Kazakhstan, told reporters between meetings with diplomats from Turkey and Iran. As you know (U.N. Special Representative on Syria Staffan) de Mistura has in principle supported the idea of holding the congress, Lavrentyev said. Although he had some reservations, he supported this initiative of Russia. Lavrentyev said the congress would focus on seeking compromise solutions towards the political settlement of the Syrian conflict. Russia, Turkey and Iran are holding the seventh round of talks on Syria - which are separate from the U.N.-sponsored Geneva process - in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, this week.

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(This October 18 story has been refiled to fix dateline, amend headline and first paragraph) ANGOOR ADDA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan is betting that a pair of nine-foot chain-link fences topped with barbed wire will stop incursions by Islamist militants from Afghanistan, which opposes Islamabad s plans for a barrier along the disputed frontier. Pakistan plans to fence up most of the 2,500 km (1,500 mile) frontier despite Kabul s protests that the barrier would divide families and friends along the Pashtun tribal belt straddling the colonial-era Durand Line drawn up by the British in 1893. Pakistan s military estimates that it will need about 56 billion rupees ($532 million) for the project, while there are also plans to build 750 border forts and employ high-tech surveillance systems to prevent militants crossing. In the rolling hills of the Angoor Adda village in South Waziristan, part of Pakistan s restive Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), three rolls of barbed wire are sandwiched in the six-foot gap between the chain-link fences. (The fence) is a paradigm change. It is an epoch shift in the border control management, said a Pakistani army officer in command of South Waziristan during a presentation to foreign media on Wednesday. There will not be an inch of international border (in South Waziristan) which shall not remain under our observation. Pakistan s military has so far fenced off about 43 km of the frontier, starting with the most violence-prone areas in FATA, and is expected to recruit tens of thousands of new troops to man the border. It is not clear how long it will take to fence the entire boundary. But Pakistan s plans have also drawn criticism from across the border. Gulab Mangal, governor of the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, told Reuters the wall will create more hatred and resentment between two neighbors and will do neither country any good. The fence will definitely create a lot of trouble for the people along the border on both sides but no wall or fence can separate these tribes, he said. I urge the tribes to stand against this action. Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home over the past year, urging Kabul to eradicate sanctuaries for militants. Afghanistan, in turn, accuses Islamabad of sheltering the leadership of the Afghan Taliban militants who are battling the Western-backed government in Kabul. Both countries deny aiding militants, but relations between the two have soured in recent years. In May, the tension rose when 10 people were killed in two border villages in Baluchistan region. The clashes occurred in so-called divided villages , where the Durand Line goes through the heart of the community, and where residents are now bracing for the fence to split their villages in two. Pakistan s previous attempts to build a fence failed about a decade ago and many doubt whether its possible to secure such a lengthy border. But Pakistani army officials are undeterred by the scepticism and insist they will finish the job as the country s security rests on this fence. By the time we are done, inshallah, we will be very sure of one thing: that nobody can cross this place, said the Pakistani officer in charge of South Waziristan.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has suspended its efforts to win congressional approval for his Asian free-trade deal before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, saying on Friday that TPP’s fate was up to Trump and Republican lawmakers. Administration officials also said Obama would try to explain the situation to leaders of the 11 other countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact next week when he attends a regional summit in Peru. Obama’s cabinet secretaries and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office had been lobbying lawmakers for months to pass the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in the post-election, lame-duck session of Congress. However, Trump’s stunning election victory that sends him to the White House in January and retains Republican majorities in Congress has stymied those plans. “We have worked closely with Congress to resolve outstanding issues and are ready to move forward, but this is a legislative process and it’s up to congressional leaders as to whether and when this moves forward,” USTR spokesman Matt McAlvanah said in a statement. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would not take up TPP in the weeks before Trump’s inauguration and said its fate was now up to Trump. House Speaker Paul Ryan had earlier said he would not proceed with a lame-duck vote. Trump made his opposition to the TPP a centerpiece of his campaign, calling it a “disaster” and “a rape of our country” that would send more jobs overseas. His anti-free-trade message and pledges to stem the tide of imported goods from China and Mexico won him massive support among blue-collar workers in the industrial heartland states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, helping to swing the election his way. Trump has said he will scrap TPP, renegotiate the 22-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement and adopt a much tougher trade stance with China. The TPP agreement, negotiated for more than five years and signed in October 2015, was aimed at reducing trade barriers erected by some of the fastest growing economies in Asia and boosting ties with U.S. allies in the region in the face of China’s rising influence. White House Deputy National Security Advisor Wally Adeyemo told reporters on Friday that Obama will tell TPP member countries at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that the United States will remain engaged in Asia, and that it recognizes the benefits of trade and such deals still make sense. “In terms of the TPP agreement itself, Leader McConnell has spoken to that and it’s something that he’s going to work with the President-elect to figure out where they go in terms of trade agreements in the future,” Adeyemo said. “But we continue to think that these types of deals make sense, simply because countries like China are not going to stop working on regional agreements.”

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ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish government has launched an investigation into a poster unfurled by fans of Istanbul s Galatasaray soccer team that pro-Turkish media said was clearly linked to organizers of the 2016 attempted coup. Just before Sunday s match kicked between Galatasaray and local rivals Fenerbahce, the home fans opened a giant red and yellow poster behind the goal showing Sylvester Stallone s famous fictional boxer Rocky , with the caption Stand Up and They look big because you are kneeling. Pro-government Turkish media linked the poster and its caption to the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. Pro-government daily Takvim said the poster was a reference to a speech by Gulen, where he was quoted reading from a poem that ends with the words Stand Up Sakarya . Sakarya is a province in northwest Turkey. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Monday ordered authorities to carry out an investigation into the poster, sources from his office said. The game between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, Turkey s biggest fixture, ended in a 0-0 draw after a match that was marred by violence in which a referee was injured. In a statement, Galatasaray said the accusations were a pathetic attempt to discredit the club, adding that the same poster was used at a match in May. We will use all our legal rights against any institution, person and social media account who tried to put the Galatasaray name next to that of the red-handed leader of the heinous terrorist organisation by using the choreography as an excuse, the club said on its website. Some 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over suspected links to last year s failed coup and more than 150,000 have been sacked or suspended from their jobs in the military, public and private sectors. Rights groups and Turkey s Western allies have said President Tayyip Erdogan is using the failed coup as a pretext to crush dissent, but the government says the measures are necessary to fight the threats it is facing. Following the statement from Yildirim s office, Galatasaray s shares were down 4.89 percent as of 1535 GMT. Current league leaders Galatasaray are Turkey s most decorated soccer club, with 20 league championships, and became the first Turkish club to win a major European trophy when they won the 2000 UEFA Cup, the predecessor to the Europa league.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - A British activist critical of Hong Kong s rights record was barred entry to the former British colony on Wednesday, prompting a demand from London for an explanation, a week before a Communist Party leadership meeting starts in Beijing. Benedict Rogers, a co-founder of the Conservative Party s Human Rights Commission, has been a vocal critic of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong s treatment of human rights activists, including that of jailed student protest leader Joshua Wong. After arriving from Bangkok on Wednesday, Rogers said immigration officials who were perfectly friendly and polite took him into a room and briefly asked him non-sensitive questions. They denied him entry about an hour later without giving a reason, Rogers told Reuters over the phone. He was then escorted on to the next flight to Bangkok by half a dozen officials. Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is governed under a one country, two systems principle that promises it a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. But critics have accused the government of bending to the will of Communist Party leaders in Beijing and of a gradual watering down of the territory s freedoms, including freedom of speech and right to protest. The Immigration Department said in a statement it does not comment on individual cases, adding it decides whether entry will be allowed in accordance with the Hong Kong law and prevailing immigration policies . The city s leader, Carrie Lam, also said she would not comment on individual cases when asked about it at a press conference about her maiden policy address. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London needed an explanation from Hong Kong and Beijing. I am very concerned that a UK national has been denied entry to Hong Kong. The British Government will be seeking an urgent explanation from the Hong Kong authorities and from the Chinese Government, he said in a statement. Hong Kong s high degree of autonomy, and its rights and freedoms, are central to its way of life and should be fully respected. Hong Kong has, on occasion, barred entry to dissidents, including former leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing and a Dutch sculptor who made a Tiananmen sculpture, though other Tiananmen activists have been allowed in for short visits. Rogers said he was shocked but he had been prepared because two days ago he had received, through an intermediary, a series of messages from the Chinese Embassy in London expressing displeasure with his visit. They actually described me, to my amazement, as a grave threat to China-British relations , Rogers said. Rogers said the embassy had also become aware of his private discussions with others on the possibility of visiting Wong, leader of the 2014 pro-democracy protests that brought much of Hong Kong to a standstill for weeks, in prison, even though the plan fell through. He said a few messages relayed to him via the intermediary subsequently became more threatening, though they were not physically threatening. I m also shocked because one aspect of one country, two systems is Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, Rogers said. But this decision was not made in Hong Kong. This decision was from the Chinese government. This raises serious questions about that particular aspect of one country, two systems . The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China s Communist Party holds a key party congress this month, a five-yearly event at which President Xi Jinping is expected to tighten his grip on power.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Professional ballet dancer Misty Copeland and wrestler turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry in opposing comments made by the chief executive of their sponsor Under Armour supporting U.S. President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Plank expressed support for Trump on CNBC, saying: “To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country.” On Thursday, Copeland wrote on her Instagram page (@mistyonpointe) that she strongly disagrees with Plank’s recent comments in support of Trump. Johnson on Twitter (@TheRock) also posted that Plank’s words on CNBC were neither his words or his beliefs. But he added that his disagreement does not mean he will be abandoning Under Armour, with which he currently has a shoe line. Copeland and Johnson join a number of athletes including Curry to speak out against Trump. In an interview with The San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, Curry, one of Under Armour’s most-visible athletes, said, “I agree with that description (of asset made by Plank), if you remove the ‘et’.” A number of NBA players including Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who is endorsed by Nike Inc, have recently expressed concerns over Trump’s policies. But Curry is the first player to directly oppose comments made by their sponsor. Plank’s comments immediately drew backlash on social media with many using hashtags #boycottUnderArmour and #Grabyourwallet to promote a campaign against pro-Trump companies. Under Armour has since released a statement saying Plank’s comments were in regard to Trump’s business policies, not his social viewpoints. “We believe in advocating for fair trade, an inclusive immigration policy that welcomes the best and the brightest and those seeking opportunity in the great tradition of our country, and tax reform that drives hiring to help create new jobs globally, across America and in Baltimore,” the company said. Under Armour is based in Baltimore. Under Armour was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. Curry, who has a multimillion-dollar contract that includes an equity stake in Under Armour that runs through 2024, said in the interview that Plank working with Trump is not a deal-breaker, but he is more concerned about Under Armour adopting Trump’s values. Curry endorsed Hilary Clinton, Trump’s Democrat opponent, in the Nov. 8 election. Shares of Under Armour closed up nearly 3 percent at $21.71 on Thursday.

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ERBIL/BAGHDAD Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said he would give up his position as president on Nov. 1, after an independence referendum he championed backfired and triggered a regional crisis. There was high drama at the Kurdish parliament, which was stormed by armed protesters as it met to approve the veteran leader s resignation as Kurdish president. Some MPs were barricaded in their offices on Sunday evening. In a televised address, his first since Iraqi forces launched a surprise offensive to recapture Kurdish-held territory on Oct. 16, Barzani confirmed that he would not extend his presidential term after Nov. 1 under any conditions . I am the same Masoud Barzani, I am a Peshmerga (Kurdish fighter) and will continue to help my people in their struggle for independence, said Barzani, who has campaigned for Kurdish self-determination for nearly four decades. The address followed a letter he sent to parliament in which he asked members to take measures to fill the resulting power vacuum. The region s parliament met in the Kurdish capital Erbil on Sunday to discuss the letter. A majority of 70 Kurdish MPs voted to accept Barzani s request and 23 opposed it, Kurdish TV channels Rudaw and Kurdistan 24 said. Demonstrators, some carrying clubs and guns, stormed the parliament building as the session was in progress. Gunshots were heard. Some protesters outside the building said they wanted to punish MPs who they said had insulted Barzani. Some attacked journalists at the scene. A Kurdish official had told Reuters on Saturday that Barzani had decided to hand over the presidency without waiting for elections that had been set for Nov. 1 but which have now been delayed by eight months. The region, which had enjoyed unprecedented autonomy for years, has been in turmoil since the independence referendum a month ago prompted military and economic retaliation from Iraq s central government in Baghdad. In his address, Barzani vigorously defended his decision to hold the Sept. 25 referendum, the results of which can never be erased , he said. The vote was overwhelmingly for independence and triggered the military action by the Baghdad government and threats from neighboring Turkey and Iran. He added that the Iraqi attack on Kirkuk and other Kurdish held territory vindicated his position that Baghdad no longer believed in federalism and instead wanted to curtail Kurdish rights. Barzani condemned the United States for failing to back the Kurds. We tried to stop bloodshed but the Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilization Front (Shi ite militias) kept advancing, using U.S. weapons, he said. Our people should now question, whether the U.S. was aware of Iraq s attack and why they did not prevent it. Asked for reaction to Barzani s resignation, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: I would refer you to Kurdistan officials for information on President Barzani. Also, we are not going to get into any private diplomatic discussions. Barzani has been criticized by Kurdish opponents for the loss of the city of Kirkuk, oil-rich and considered by many Kurds to be their spiritual home. His resignation could help facilitate a reconciliation between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq s central government, whose retaliatory measures since the referendum have transformed the balance of power in the north. Barzani has led the KRG since it was established in 2005. His second term expired in 2013 but was extended without elections being held as Islamic State militants swept across vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces, Iranian-backed paramilitaries and Kurdish fighters fought alongside each other to defeat Islamic State but the alliance has faltered since the militants were largely defeated in the country. After the Kurdish vote, Iraqi troops were ordered by the country s prime minister Haider al-Abadi to take control of areas claimed by both Baghdad and the KRG. Abadi also wants to take control of the border crossings between the Kurdish region and Turkey, Iran and Syria, including one through which an oil export pipeline crosses into Turkey, carrying Iraqi and Kurdish crude oil. The fall of Kirkuk - a multi-ethnic city which lies outside the KRG s official boundaries - to Iraqi forces on Oct. 16 was a major symbolic and financial blow to the Kurds independence drive because it halved the region s oil export revenue. Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga started a second round of talks on Sunday to resolve a conflict over control of the Kurdistan region s border crossings, Iraqi state TV said. A first round was held on Friday and Saturday, with Abadi ordering a 24-hour suspension on Friday of military operations against Kurdish forces. He demanded on Thursday that the Kurds declare their referendum void, rejecting the KRG offer to suspend its independence push to resolve a crisis through talks, saying in a statement: We won t accept anything but its cancellation and the respect of the constitution.

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ANKARA (Reuters) - Istanbul s main Ataturk airport was reopened to traffic on Thursday after a private jet crashed on the runway, causing authorities to suspend flights, the head of Turkish Airlines said on Twitter. The jet, registered as TC-KON, crashed after reporting a malfunction as it was taking off, the state-run news agency Anadolu said. The flight was heading to the Ercan airport in northern Cyprus, Anadolu reported. Police said the jet s two pilots, a cabin crew member and a passenger were slightly injured in the crash. The jet s rear end was detached from the aircraft, with emergency teams and firefighters at the crash site, images from a Reuters photographer on the scene showed. The jet had briefly burst into flames after crashing, causing traffic at the airport to be suspended, Anadolu said. Turkish Airlines Chief Executive Bilal Eksi said both runways at the airport were now operational.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday ramped up his criticism of a federal judge who blocked a travel ban on seven mainly Muslim nations and said courts were making U.S. border security harder, intensifying the first major legal battle of his presidency. In a series of tweets that broadened his attack on the country’s judiciary, Trump said Americans should blame U.S. District Judge James Robart and the court system if anything happened. Trump did not elaborate on what threats the country potentially faced. He added that he had told the Department of Homeland Security to “check people coming into our country VERY CAREFULLY. The courts are making the job very difficult!” The Republican president labeled Robart a “so-called judge” on Saturday, a day after the Seattle jurist issued a temporary restraining order that prevented enforcement of a 90-day ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day bar on all refugees. A U.S. appeals court later on Saturday denied the government’s request for an immediate stay of the ruling. Vice President Mike Pence defended Trump earlier on Sunday, even as some Republicans encouraged the businessman-turned-politician to tone down his broadsides against the judicial branch of government. “The president of the United States has every right to criticize the other two branches of government,” Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. It is unusual for a sitting president to attack a member of the judiciary, which the U.S. Constitution designates as a check on the power of the executive branch and Congress. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Trump seems intent on precipitating a constitutional crisis. Some Republicans also expressed discomfort with the situation. “I think it is best not to single out judges for criticism,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “We all get disappointed from time to time at the outcome in courts on things that we care about. But I think it is best to avoid criticizing judges individually.” Republican Senator Ben Sasse, a vocal critic of Trump, was less restrained. “We don’t have so-called judges ... we don’t have so-called presidents, we have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution,” he said on the ABC News program “This Week.” The ruling by Robart, appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, coupled with the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to deny the government’s request for an immediate stay of the ruling dealt a blow to Trump barely two weeks into his presidency. It could also be the precursor to months of legal challenges to his push to clamp down on immigration, including through the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, and complicate the confirmation battle of his U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said on Saturday that Gorsuch, a conservative federal appeals court judge from Colorado, must meet a higher bar to show his independence from the president. Trump, who during his presidential campaign called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, has vowed to reinstate his controversial travel ban. He says the measures are needed to protect the United States from Islamist militants. Critics say they are unjustified and discriminatory. The legal limbo will prevail at least until the federal appeals court rules on the government’s application for an emergency stay of Robart’s ruling. The court was awaiting further submissions from the states of Washington and Minnesota on Sunday, and from the federal government on Monday. The final filing was due at 5 p.m. PST on Monday (0100 GMT on Tuesday). The uncertainty has created what may be a short-lived opportunity for travelers from the seven affected countries as well as refugees to get into the United States. Sara Yarjani, an Iranian student with a U.S. visa who was attempting to return to Los Angeles to visit her parents, was among those who boarded flights to the United States after learning that Trump’s travel ban had been blocked. Her visa had been stamped “revoked” and she was sent back to Vienna last week. She was slated to arrive in Los Angeles on Sunday, according to her sister, Sahara Muranovic. “This is our only window,” Muranovic said. “Maybe they’ll blow it again by Monday.” Trump’s Jan. 27 travel restrictions have drawn protests in the United States, provoked criticism from U.S. allies and created chaos for thousands of people who have, in some cases, spent years seeking asylum. Reacting to the latest court ruling, Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said: “It is a move in the right direction to solve the problems that it caused.” In his ruling on Friday, Robart questioned the use of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States as a justification for the ban, saying no attacks had been carried out on U.S. soil by individuals from the seven affected countries since then. For Trump’s order to be constitutional, Robart said, it had to be “based in fact, as opposed to fiction”. The 9/11 attacks were carried out by hijackers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon, whose nationals were not affected by the order. In a series of tweets on Saturday, Trump attacked Hobart’s opinion as ridiculous. “What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?” he asked. Trump told reporters at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida late on Saturday: “We’ll win. For the safety of the country we’ll win.” The Justice Department’s appeal criticized Robart’s reasoning, saying the ruling violated the separation of powers and stepped on the president’s authority as commander-in-chief. It said the state of Washington lacked standing to challenge Trump’s order and denied it “favors Christians at the expense of Muslims.”The U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security said they were complying with Robart’s ruling and many visitors were expected to start arriving on Sunday, while the government said it expected to begin admitting refugees again onMonday. A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, Leonard Doyle, confirmed on Sunday that about 2,000 refugees were ready to travel to the United States. “We expect a small number of refugees to arrive in the U.S. on Monday, Feb. 6th. They are mainly from Jordan and include people fleeing war and persecution in Syria,” he said in an email. Iraqi Fuad Sharef, his wife and three children spent two years obtaining U.S. visas. They had packed up to move to America last week, but were turned back to Iraq after a failed attempt to board a U.S.-bound flight from Cairo. On Sunday, the family checked in for a Turkish Airlines flight to New York from Istanbul. “Yeah, we are very excited. We are very happy,” Sharef told Reuters TV. “Finally, we have been cleared. We are allowed to enter the United States.”

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior official with the Republican National Committee on Sunday played down the prospect that the party would cut off cash and logistical support to White House nominee Donald Trump in order to shift resources toward congressional races. Last week 70 Republicans wrote a letter urging the RNC to stop helping Trump and to focus instead on candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The letter, signed by former members both of Congress and RNC staff, said Trump’s actions were “divisive and dangerous” and posed a threat to the party and the country. Sean Spicer, RNC communications director, said in a telephone interview that abandoning Trump with nearly three months to go to the Nov. 8 election “doesn’t make logical sense.” In October 1996 the RNC moved money from the presidential race to congressional candidates after Republican nominee Bob Dole fell far behind Democratic President Bill Clinton in opinion polls. But Spicer said giving up on Trump could be harmful to other Republican candidates and there was still time for him to rebound in opinion polls against Democrat Hillary Clinton. “Number one, you need a strong top of the ticket. That’s number one. Number two, we’re only six points down,” Spicer said, referring to the gap that Clinton has opened up against Trump in some national polls. Clinton led Trump by more than five percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. Clinton has strong leads in hotly contested states such as Pennsylvania and New Hampshire and some polls show her within a few percentage points of Trump in some states such as Georgia that normally lean strongly Republican. Any discussions of cutting off funds to Trump in August would be “ridiculous,” Spicer said. Trump has polarized the party with his vow to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and his plan to impose a temporary ban on Muslims seeking to enter the country. Trump has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for a prolonged feud with the Muslim family of a fallen U.S. Army captain and his assertion last week that President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had co-founded the Islamic State militant group.

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia detained 11 princes, four current ministers and tens of former ministers in a probe by a new anti-corruption body headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported. According to a senior Saudi official who declined to be identified under briefing rules, those detained include: - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding 4280.SE - Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, minister of the National Guard - Prince Turki bin Abdullah, former governor of Riyadh province - Khalid al-Tuwaijri, former chief of the Royal Court - Adel Fakeih, Minister of Economy and Planning - Ibrahim al-Assaf, former finance minister - Abdullah al-Sultan, commander of the Saudi navy - Bakr bin Laden, chairman of Saudi Binladin Group - Mohammad al-Tobaishi, former head of protocol at the Royal Court - Amr al-Dabbagh, former governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority - Alwaleed al-Ibrahim, owner of television network MBC - Khalid al-Mulheim, former director-general at Saudi Arabian Airlines - Saoud al-Daweesh , former chief executive of Saudi Telecom 7010.SE - Prince Turki bin Nasser, former head of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment - Prince Fahad bin Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Saud, former deputy defence minister - Saleh Kamel, businessman - Mohammad al-Amoudi, businessman

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