G7 leaders divided on trade; Trump attacks EU, Canada amid backlash

Leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations headed for a summit in Canada on Thursday more divided than at any time in the group's 42-year history, as U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policies risk causing a global trade war and deep diplomatic schisms. In a bid to rebuild America's industry, Trump has imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, including those from key G7 allies like Canada, Japan and the European Union. 

Trump has threatened to use national security laws to do the same for car imports and has walked back on environmental agreements and an international deal to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has invested in a warm personal relationship with Trump, said the other G7 nations - Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as France - should remain "polite" and productive but warned that "no leader is forever," a sign that Europe would not surrender meekly to the U.S. president.

Stormy Daniels sues President Trump for defamation over 'con job' tweet

Pornstar Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, filed a lawsuit against the president on Monday for defamation.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, lodged the complaint with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In the suit, Clifford said that Trump made "false and defamatory" statements about her in an April 18 tweet.

Trump's tweet was in response to the release by Clifford the previous day of a sketch of a man whom she claimed warned her in 2011 to "leave Trump alone."

Clifford claimed she was threatened in a Las Vegas parking lot after agreeing to an interview with "In Touch" magazine about her alleged affair with Trump.

After Clifford released a drawing of the man she said threatened her, Trump tweeted: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!" "Mr Trump's statement falsely attacks the veracity of Ms Clifford's account of the threatening incident that took place in 2011," the lawsuit said.

Look forward to meeting Kim Jong-un; US talking to N Korea directly: Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US was in direct talks with North Korea "at a very high level" ahead of his planned summit with Kim Jong-un.

The two countries were looking at five potential venues for the summit, "but it is not in the United States", Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago where he was hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We've also started talking to North Korea directly.We have had direct talks at very high levels -- extremely high levels -- with North Korea," Trump said before a restricted bilateral meeting with Abe.

"I really believe there's a lot of goodwill. A lot of good things are happening.We'll see what happens.As I always say, we'll see what happens.Because ultimately, it's the end result that counts, not the fact that we're thinking about having a meeting or having a meeting," he said.

Trump morally unfit to be prez, causing damage to US: Ex-FBI chief Comey

Donald Trump is "morally unfit" to be president, former FBI chief James Comey asserted on Monday as he claimed "it's possible" that Russia may have some information on him that Moscow could use to compromise him.

Comey, 57, who was unceremoniously fired by the US president in May last year, in a wide-ranging interview to ABC News warned that "The foundation of this country is in jeopardy when we stop measuring our leaders against that central value of the truth."

He also cautioned that if Trump ever tries to sack special counsel Robert Mueller, then it would be his "most serious attack yet on the rule of law" and causing "tremendous damage" to the country's institutions.

Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election and any potential ties between Trump campaign and Russia. Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a witch hunt and denied any collusion.

Comey led the federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election before he was fired by Trump

FBI raids Cohen; Trump brands Mueller's probe an 'attack on country'

President Donald Trump branded special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election meddling "an attack on our country", escalating his criticism of the yearlong investigation after federal authorities raided the offices of his personal attorney.

Agents today seized records from the offices of longtime Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, on topics including a $130,000 payment made to a porn actress who says she had sex with Trump more than a decade ago.

Hours later, flanked by the nation's top military brass, Trump unleashed his sharpest invective against the sweeping investigation to date, calling the search "a disgrace."

"It's an attack on our country in a true sense," Trump said. "It's an attack on what we all stand for." He added it marked a "whole new level of unfairness" by Mueller and his team.

Trump called the probe a "witch hunt," suggesting it was a distraction from serious issues, like the consideration of a military response to Syria's apparent use of a chemical weapon on civilians over the weekend which was a subject of his meeting with the defense secretary, the joint chiefs of staff and US combatant commanders.

Will Trump meet Kim? Uncertainty prevails as N Korea yet to accept invite

Uncertainty lingers over the first-ever meeting between the United States' President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as Washington is yet to hear directly from Pyongyang on the invitation extended by Kim via South Korean intermediaries.

"We've not heard anything directly back from North Korea, although we expect to hear something directly from them," the New York Daily News reported, citing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as telling reporters on Monday in Nigeria's Abuja, when asked about plans for the meeting, likely to take place in May.

Tillerson also stated that no venue for the meeting had been agreed upon, adding, "I think it's going to be very important that those conversations are held quietly" between the two nations.

According to the report, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday said the meeting wouldn't take place "until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea."

News digest: PNB fraud, war against fakes, right to die, and more

Trump slaps tariffs, rattles Indian metal firms; JSW asks govt to retaliate


Indian metal producers with exposure to Europe and the United States warned of increased costs and lower sales with US President Donald Trump signing on Thursday a proclamation levying a 25 per cent duty on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium imports.


As soon as Trump signed the proclamation, Tata Steel Europe asked the Dutch government and the European Union to persuade the US not to levy the duty on steel imports. Read more here...


PNB fraud fallout: Loan disbursements to corporate India take a hit
Loan disbursals to India Inc are taking a hit at this crucial time of fiscal year end, as banks, especially public sector lenders, have turned defensive in the aftermath of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. The assessment of the impact of the new framework for restructuring of stressed assets is also taking bankers’ time.

Like Xi in China, maybe we'll give 'Prez for life' a shot someday: Trump

US President Donald Trump appeared to praise Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s efforts to extend his tenure in a speech to donors, according to a recording released by CNN.

“Don’t forget China’s great and Xi is a great gentleman. He’s now president for life,” Trump told Republican backers, who erupted in laughter in response to the remarks made Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The comments come as China’s national parliament gathers in Beijing for two weeks of meetings expected to culminate in Xi’s appointment to a second term and a constitutional change allowing him to stay on indefinitely. The Communist Party announced the planned amendment Feb. 25, in a surprising break with succession practices set up after Mao Zedong’s fraught tenure.

China set to make Xi era permanent with sweeping legal overhaul

In his first five years, President Xi Jinping has seized control of economic policy, reasserted the Communist Party’s authority and sidelined potential rivals in an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign.
Now, he’s set to make the Xi era permanent.
In a two-week session starting Monday, China’s rubber-stamp parliament is expected to enact sweeping legislative changes that would allow Xi to rule indefinitely and give him greater control over the levers of money and power. The agenda includes repealing presidential term limits, creating a powerful new agency to police officials and possibly approving the biggest regulatory overhaul of the $43 trillion finance-and-insurance sector in 15 years.
Xi is also reportedly planning to use the annual meeting of the 3,000-member National People’s Congress to install allies in key government posts, including the vice presidency, the central bank governorship and dozens of minister-level positions. It’s unclear when exactly specific decisions will be announced.

Third-highest ranking US diplomat quits in latest departure under Trump

The US State Department’s third-ranking official, Tom Shannon, said on Thursday he was stepping down, the latest senior career diplomat to exit since President Donald Trump took office a year ago.
Shannon, who serves as under secretary of state for political affairs, is the most senior career diplomat at the State Department and has been a fixture among the nation’s diplomatic ranks during more than 34 years of service spanning six presidents and 10 secretaries of state.

In a letter to department staff, Shannon, 60, said he was resigning for personal reasons.
“My decision is personal, and driven by a desire to attend to my family, take stock of my life, and set a new direction for my remaining years,” Shannon wrote in a note to staff after informing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday of his decision to retire.

Trump team paid $130,000 to hush porn star after an alleged affair: Reports

A lawyer for US President Donald Trump arranged to fork over $130,000 in hush money to a former porn star a month before the 2016 election over an alleged affair, a new report has said.

Popularly known as "Stormy Daniels" had a "hookup" with Trump the married future President in 2006, the New York Post said.

Michael Cohen, an attorney for the Trump Organisation, set up the payment to the woman - whose real name is Stephanie Clifford - in a negotiated nondisclosure agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Clifford alleged that the "hookup" took place in July 2006 - a year after Trump married his third wife and present First lady Melania Trump.

Clifford said they met at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

The White House minimised the salacious revelation - one of many alleged incidents of inappropriate behaviour with women the President has faced and denied, the NYP report said.

"These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election," a White House official told the WSJ.

The official would not answer questions about the reported deal with Clifford - who performed in about 150 porn films, including "Dirty Deeds", "Nymphos" and "Good Will Humping", a XXX-rated spoof of the flick "Good Will Hunting".
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Time magazine wanted me to be the 'Person of the Year'; I declined: Trump

United States President Donald Trump claimed that he denied being named Time's 'Person of the Year' after the magazine told him he "probably" would be selected "like last year."

"Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named "Man (Person) of the Year," like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!" Trump tweeted.
 
The magazine named Trump 'Person of the Year' in 2016, following his shocking victory over Hillary Clinton.

"It's a great honor. It means a lot," Trump said at the time. "To be on the cover of Time magazine as the person of the year is a tremendous honor," reported the Hill.

Time defended the controversial decision by saying the award is given to "the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year".

Time began conducting a reader poll for its Person of the Year competition earlier this month.

Trump's tweet came in the backdrop of an online readers' poll that shows Trump being outperformed by singer Taylor Swift and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz for this year's honor.
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California sues Donald Trump over Obamacare birth control mandate rollback

California state has sued President Donald Trump's administration arguing that its rollback of a requirement for employers to provide contraceptive coverage to workers is unconstitutional and unlawfully targets women, the media reported.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California here on Friday, comes hours after the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule change that allows more employers to opt out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) birth control mandate by claiming religious or moral objections, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.
Prior to this rule change, only houses of worship, religiously affiliated non-profits and some private companies with few shareholders could opt out of providing birth control coverage.

The new rule also allows publicly traded companies and all nonprofits and universities to take a religious exemption.

"...millions of women in California may be left without access to contraceptives and counseling and the state will be shouldering the additional fiscal and administrative burden as women seek access for this coverage through state-funded programmes," The Los Angeles Times quoted the lawsuit as saying.
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S&P, Dow hit new record highs as North Korea tensions ease

Wall Street hit new life highs after open on Monday lifted by industrials and financials stocks as tensions eased on the Korean peninsula and focus shifted to the Federal Reserve's meeting.

Caterpillar's 1.8 percent rise was the biggest boost on the Dow while the S&P and the Nasdaq were lifted by Nvidia's 3.6 percent increase.

A relatively quiet North Korea and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments on "peaceful solution" over the weekend have calmed investors.

However, the tensions could be back in focus with U.S. President Donald Trump set to address world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting starting on Tuesday is unlikely to result in an interest rate increase, but investors will focus on how Fed Chair Janet Yellen views recent inflation readings for clues on the timing of further rate hikes.

The central bank is also expected to announce plans to begin unwinding its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, nearly a decade after the global financial crisis.
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Donald Trump on sharing confidential data: Have absolute right to do so

US President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday he had the right to share information with Russia related to terrorism and other issues, his first public response to the revelation that he disclosed classified information at an Oval Office meeting last week.

The President made his first statement on Twitter following a series of denials from White House officials.

"I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled White House meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety, humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism," he tweeted.

Donald J. Trump 

✔@realDonaldTrump

As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining....

4:33 PM - 16 May 2017

Donald J. Trump 

✔@realDonaldTrump

...to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.

4:43 PM - 16 May 2017

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the President shared intelligence from a US ally in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

The Post, citing unnamed officials, also reported that Trump went off script during the meeting, describing details about an Islamic State group terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on airplanes, revealing the city where the information was gathered.

The Trump administration immediately rejected the claims as "false".

"I was in the room, it didn't happen," HR McMaster, Trump's National Security Adviser, said on Monday.

"At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed and the President did not disclose any military operations that weren't already publicly known," McMaster said.

However, on Tuesday Trump took to Twitter to defend his actions, appearing to contradict the denials that he had shared intelligence with the Russian officials.

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Best thing to do would be to cancel all future 'press briefings': Trump

President Donald Trump lashed out in a series of tweets on Friday amid a firestorm over the abrupt firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey, defending the shifting narrative and timeline his administration has offered for the decision.

He questioned whether his administration should cancel all future press briefings and, instead, replace them with written responses to questions, "for the sake of accuracy."

The president's advisers said this week that Trump fired Comey on Tuesday in response to a recommendation by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Later, however, they said that Trump had planned to fire Comey regardless.

The president tweeted, "As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!"

He added, "Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future 'press briefings' and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???"

The decision to fire Comey amid an ongoing FBI investigation into ties between the Russian government and members of Trump's 2016 campaign has raised concerns that Trump was trying to undermine a probe that could threaten his presidency.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted the information she and her colleagues offered was consistent. "It was a quick-moving process," she said. "We took the information we had as best we have it and got it out to the American people as quickly as we could."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Rosenstein drafted the memo raising concerns about Comey on his own accord. The next day, Sanders said the president asked Rosenstein to put his concerns in writing.
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His latest interview indicates 'President Rock' is a possibility

In an interview with GQ magazine conducted by Caity Weaver, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock said running for President was a "real possibility". What started off as a joke in the cover story seems quite real as Dwayne believes he's meant for a higher office. What makes it more interesting are a number of quotes from the same interview published on Wednesday, which strongly suggest that the former pro wrestler intends to take a real shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

The story weaves itself from an earlier interview in a November article by Vanity Fair's Paul Chi in which Johnson said, "I wouldn't rule it out," when asked about a presidential run. Continuing in the same vein, The Fast and Furious star said: "A year ago it started coming up more and more. There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think. Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful. I didn't want to be flippant."

Expressing his opinions on the decisions taken by present US President, Donald Trump, he said,"I'd like to see a better leadership. I'd like to see a greater leadership. When there's a disagreement, and you have a large group of people that you're in a disagreement with—for example, the media—I feel like it informs me that I could be better. If there's a large number of people disagreeing, there might be something I'm not seeing, so let me see it. Let me understand it."

Johnson added that it's high time to make a “snap judgment” when it comes to national-security decisions.

The highest grossing actors of Hollywood made headlines minutes after the interview was published. A sample of people gushing over this news on Twitter

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Donald Trump's 100 days of u-turns, bombs and cake

The hundredth day of an American president’s term traditionally marks the end of the honeymoon period – a time to take stock of early achievements, launch new legislation, and set a new direction. But the scorecard for Donald Trump’s first 100 days doesn’t read well, and the direction for the next four years is looking so new as to radically contradict the premise of his campaign.

Trump hasn’t commenced the wall along the US-Mexican border, his signature campaign pledge. He has failed (and spectacularly) to repeal and replace the healthcare reforms collectively known as Obamacare, and the courts have thwarted his orders to ban foreign nationals from several mainly Muslim countries from the US. And on a moral front, his compassion for Syrian children killed in a horrific chemical attack was offset by his decision to turn away 10,000 Syrian refugees.

The administration is under intense pressure from investigations into the Trump team’s Russian connections and purported Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The resignation of General Mike Flynn and the hapless antics of the investigating committees in Congress have only made the saga more damaging.

All the while, American opinion remains divided as ever: Trump currently enjoys the approval of roughly 40% of his people.

Trump’s image problem extends well beyond the US’s borders. In the past month, I spent a week in China while President Xi Jinping was visiting Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. I then visited the US, travelling from North Carolina through Virginia and on to Washington, DC. The Chinese are mostly bemused by the new president, who comes in for plenty of criticism in the Chinese media.

In the US, meanwhile, the president is at the centre of a perpetual media frenzy, lurching from one decision to the next while providing byplay via his own tweets. And undoubtedly his most dramatic lurch has been away from isolationism and towards outright military adventurism.
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Here's what Donald Trump has done in his first 100 days in office

Since FDR, a president’s first 100 days offer an important – if arbitrary – measure for evaluating success. While it is unlikely any executive will again match the productivity of Roosevelt, most scholars of the presidency agree that this period still matters for advancing an administration’s agenda.

It has been an unruly 100 days since President Donald Trump took the oath of office. His administration has been plagued with scandals, protests and a critical media with a renewed sense of purpose.

As a scholar of the presidency and the press, I’ve found the beginning of the Trump administration morbidly fascinating.

Despite his boasts, Trump’s legislative agenda appears to be stalled. As we approach day 100, many will point critically to the dearth of bills coming across Trump’s desk. However, focusing solely on legislation overlooks a thriving aspect of the Trump presidency: the use of unilateral powers like executive orders, memoranda and proclamations.

Trump goes it alone

Trump hit the ground running with a flurry of unilateral activity. This burst of direct actions may seem surprising in light of Trump’s past statements. In 2012, he took to Twitter to criticize President Obama for “constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority.” According to the American Presidency Project, Trump has surpassed his power-grabbing predecessor in unilateral actions, and in less time.

Trump is clearly making a concerted effort to fulfill his campaign promises. In areas where he can act alone, Trump has made gestures – some symbolic, others more substantive – toward 14 of the 18 pledges outlined in his Contract with the American Voter. With a stroke of the pen, Trump attempted to reduce the number of people working for the government, “drain the swamp” and advance pipeline projects.
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