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Mueller probe poses dozens of questions for president

Robert Mueller has given a list of almost four dozen questions to lawyers for President Donald Trump as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump obstructed justice, according to a report published in ‘The New York Times’. ( Mueller probe )

The newspaper obtained a list of the questions, which range from Trump’s motivations for firing FBI director a year ago to contacts Trump’s campaign had with Russians. ( Mueller probe )

Although Mueller’s team has indicated to the president’s lawyers that he isn’t considered a target, investigators remain interested in whether Mr Trump’s actions constitute obstruction of justice and want to interview him about several episodes in office. ( Mueller probe )

The lawyers want to resolve the investigation as quickly as possible, but there’s no agreement on how to do that.

Many questions obtained by the New York Times centre on the obstruction issue, including his reaction to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s recusal from the Russia investigation, a decision Mr Trump has angrily criticised.

Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment on Monday night, as did White House lawyer Ty Cobb.

The questions also touch on the Russian meddling and whether the Trump campaign co-ordinated with the Kremlin in any way. ( Mueller probe )

one og the questions obtained by the Times, Mueller asks what Trump know about campaign staff, including his former campaign chairman Paul, reaching out to Moscow.

Mueller has brought several charges against Manafort, but none is for any crimes related to Russian election interference during the 2016 campaign. And he has denied anything to do with such an effort.

The questions also touch on Trump’s businesses and his discussions with his personal lawyer, about a possible Moscow real estate deal. Cohen’s business dealings are part of a separate FBI investigation.

One of the questions ask what discussions Trump may have had regarding “any meeting with Putin,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Another question ask what the president may have known about a possible attempt by his son-in-law, to set up a back channel with Russia before Trump’s inauguration.

Another questions centre on Michael Flynn, Trump former national security adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions on sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition. Flynn is now co-operating with Mr Mueller’s investigators.

“What did you know about phone calls that Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, in late December 2016?” reads one question.

Another asks if there were any efforts to reach out to Mr Flynn “about seeking immunity or possible pardon.”

Flynn was fired by 2017, after White House officials said he had misled them about his Russian contacts during the transition period by saying that he had not discussed sanctions.

Brazilian president sends in army

Brazi president Michel Temer has ordered the army and federal police to clear highways blockaded by truck drivers after a protest over soaring fuel prices.

The blockades have paralysed much country’s economy and prompted São Paulo, the biggest city in South America, to declare a state of emergency over fuel shortages.

I have actioned the federal security forces to unblock highways and I am asking governors to do the same, Temer said in a televised address. “We will not let the population do”

The protests began over fuel prices but have been further stoked by widespread anger over repeated graft scandals involving prominent politicians

In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, supermarkets and restaurants are running low on supplies. Some factories have shut down, bus services been reduced and even the Refugees World Cup, scheduled to take place in São Paul has been cancelled.

The Folha de S Paulo newspaper site reported that 11 airports including one in the capital city Brasília have run out of fuel, and long queues have built up at gas stations around the country.

Behind the scenes, the army – already embroiled in a controversial operation against gang violence in Rio de Janeiro state – is concerned it might not have enough fuel to break the strike, the G1 news site reported.

It is a difficult, delicate mission,” said reserve Gen Augusto Heleno Pereira, who commanded Brazil’s United Nation military force in Haiti. “The truck driver is a sympathetic figure, we hope there will be negotiation and there will be a deal and that they will not offer resistance.”

The government appeared to believe it had resolved the crisis, but a lot of drivers were unsatisfied with the deal. One of the main unions, known in Portuguese as Abcam and representing 600,000 truck drivers, walked out of the negotiations.

no water, no food: African migrants recount terrifying Atlantic crossing

“We will not go back to work until our demands are met,” said truck driver José Cicero, speaking by telephone from a protest at Santos, Brazil’s biggest port near São Paulo.

Brazil’s federal highway police said that highways continued to be blocked on Friday but wouldn’t confirm how many. Local media reported that security forces will be able to enter trucks and remove them from the highways, and the ( Brazilian president) decree is due to come into effect.

Following Temer’s decree the Abcam union said it was telling its members to stop blocking highways, ( Brazilian president) but continue demonstrating peacefully.

Ahead of yesterda Brazilian media reported that some congressmen were fleeing Brasilia to return to their home states before the fuel ran out. Senate president who flew back to his home state ( Brazilian president) of Ceará in the North East, was forced to fly straight back to Brasília after a wave of criticism.

On Friday striking school( Brazilian president) bus drivers paraded down São Paulo’s landmark Paulista Avenue in a cacophony of blaring horns. Drivers drew a direct link between their own increased fuel costs and the vast sums of money that politicians of all parties have been accused of stealing.

The Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein has charged with rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse for alleged incidents involving two women, after he earlier surrendered to authorities

During a brief court appearance, Weinstein remained quiet as his lawyers agreed he would post £750,000 bail and wear an electronic monitoring device. and surrendered his passport, and agreed not to travel beyond New York and Connecticut.

A prosecutor told the judge that the investigation was on going, and that authorities encouraged other survivors to come forward.

The defendant used his position, money and power to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually,” she said.

Speaking outside court, Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said his client intended to plead not guilty. He called the charges “constitutionally flawed” and “not supported”.

It is the first criminal case to be brought against Weinstein since the revelations about him erupted sparked theMeToo movement.

Weinstein was led in handcuffs, with a detective on either side holding his arms, from the police station into a waiting car. A few minutes later he arrived at criminal court and was marched in by the detectives to arraigned on the charges. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

A statement from the New York police department said: “The NYPD thanks these brave survivors for their courage to come forward

Weinstein surrendered to police early Friday morning at the NYPD first precinct in Tribeca in lower Manhattan, where the Weinstein Company has its headquarters and where many of the alleged offenses are said to have taken place, either at the offices or a nearby hotel.

He stepped from a SUV wearing a dark jacket over a light blue sweater and white open-necked shirt. He was carrying three books under his arm. He went into the police station before a crowd of news cameras. He didn’t respond to shouts of “Harvey!”

Two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press the case will include allegations by Lucia Evans, an aspiring actor who has said the Hollywood mogul forced her to perform oral sex on him in his office. She was among the first women to speak out about the producer.

One official said it was likely the case also will include at least one other victim who has not come forward publicly.

After Weinstein’s arrest, Rose McGowan, one of his most prominent accusers, told the UK’s BBC Radio 4: “It’s a concrete slap in the face of abuse of power. I hope we emerge victorious and, if anything, we have emerged victorious, no mater what, because people are listening now.”

Lucia Evans told the New Yorker in a story published in October that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a daytime meeting at his New York office in 2004, the summer before her senior year at Middlebury College.

“I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,’” she said.

A grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case for weeks.

In March, Andrew Cuomo, the New York governor, took the extraordinary step of ordering the state’s attorney general to investigate whether Vance acted properly in 2015 when he decided not to prosecute Weinstein over a previous allegation of unwanted groping, made by an Italian model. That investigation is in its preliminary stages.

More 75 women have accused Weinstein of wrongdoing. Several actors and models accused him of criminal sexual assaults, but a lot of the encounters happened too long ago for any prosecution. Rose McGowan said Weinstein raped her in 1997 in Utah, the Sopranos actor Annabella Sciorra said Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment in 1992 and the Norwegian actor Natassia Malthe said Weinstein attacked her in a London hotel room in 2008.

The statute of limitations for rape and certain other sex crimes in New York was eliminated in 2006, but not for attacks that happened prior to 2001.

New York City police detectives said in early November that they were investigating allegations by another accuser, the Boardwalk Empire star Paz de la Huerta, who told police in October that Weinstein raped her twice in 2010. She isn’t one of the victims in the case on Friday; she was still pending.

Authorities in California and London are also investigating assault allegations. Britain has no statute of limits on rape cases; some of the allegations under investigation there date to the 1980s.

Two of the books Weinstein carried into the police station have been identified as Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution by Todd S Purdum, and Elia Kazan: A Biography by Richard Schickel.

Harvey Weinstein: the remarkable downfall of Hollywood’s biggest mogul

Something Wonderful was published last month. Weinstein might see something of himself in the story of successful showmen impresarios credited with changing the cultural landscape.

THE EU has been slammed by viewers of a Channel 4 documentary branding Brussels’ workings a “waste of money”.

The first episode of fly-on-the-wall television programme Carry On Brussels was broadcast on Channel 4 at 10pm on Wednesday.

It followed a group of MEPs from a range of political parties television channel described as charting their tears, tantrums and tactics during turbulent Brexit times

The aim of the documentary was to emphasise on the European Parliament is “one of the most misunderstood institutions in the world

But viewers of the programme have taken to Twitter to hit at the way the EU operates, accusing it of employing bullying tactics to gain power and being a “waste of money”.
Who said: “#carryonbrussels is doing more for the pro-Brexit campaign than any of the politicians did building up the vote.

“It’s not a democratic parliament, it’s a gang of school kids bullying the kids who do not fall in line.

Another wrote: CarryOnBrussels what a total waste of money the EU is.

“Not only that we have to plead with other countries to get something passed in the UnitedKingdom.

“Thank God we are leaving.”

One user posted: “What a total waste of money the EU machine is. Thank god we are out!”

Another tweeted “If only there had been more exposure of the EU Parliament before the EU referendum, then the ‘Leave’ majority would have been larger.”

One of the highlights of the Brussels showed a British MEP storming out of a debate when his microphone was cut, who then insisted it would take more than the EU Parliament to “intimidate” him.

Combative Unitedkingdom ip leader Gerard Batten was speaking in the chamber last year during a debate about EU citizens’ rights on in the UK after Brexit when he overran his allocated time.

During his speech, he said: “I didn’t interrupt you so don’t interrupt me.

“You all go over time. I usually keep my 60 seconds and I am asking once for a little bit of extra time.”

After three-and-a-half minutes, Mr Batten had his microphone cut off.

THERESA May has warned she will make Brussels pay for excluding Britain. In a noticeable toughening of the government’s stance it has issued a paper to Brussels over a decision by the EU to exclude Britain from the Galileo satellite navigation project and said that it will have to pay Britain back £1 billion.

According to reports a number of EU governments including France, the Netherlands and three Baltic states have made it clear they disagree with the hard line approach being taken by chief negotiator.

They fear that the EU is leading the block down a path to reduced economic problems and security because it is trying to attack the UK over Brexit.

In warning, the UK has said that British citizens and EU will all be under threat unless the EU is willing to do a bespoke deal with Britain on security.

Meanwhile, Government sources have said that the EU Withdrawal Bill will return to the Commons to consider amendments This means that the Bill could be passed before the summer strengthening Mrs May’s hand in walking away from the talks.

But taking a tough line over the Galileo Project, which Britain actually started before sharing with the EU, the UK Government has threatened to launch its own version of the system if the EU doesn’t change its stance, according to a document issued by the Department for Exiting the European Union.

The document also makes clear that the UK will seek to have the £1 billion it has already invested in the project – a rival to GPS – refunded if it withdraws from the venture.

Britain rejected the EU’s view that it could not remain a full member of the project after Brexit as London insists it is in the interest of both sides to continue to work closely together on security issues.

Brussels has made it clear that the UK can’t access the same encrypted Galileo information as EU members, or be involved in its development post-Brexit.

Excluding the UK from full participation in Galileo will cost the EU one billion euro and set the project back by three years, the document states.

The paper said that the position adopted by Brussels “risks being interpreted as a lack of trust” in the UK.

The paper warns the UK will go own way if demands are’nt met, stating: “If agreement cannot be reached on the future balance of rights and obligations, and UK security and industrial requirements consequently cannot be met, the UK could not justify future participation in Galileo.

“In parallel, the UK is therefore exploring alternatives to fulfil its needs for secure and resilient position, navigation and timing information, including the option for a domestic satellite system.

“The UK wants Galileo to be a core component of the future UK-EU security partnership.” the Commons Brexit committee has suggested that the UK could end up staying longer in the customs union under Brussels rule because the Government has not come up with solution for customs arrangements.

The committee was though criticised by Tory member Andrea Jenkyns who claimed it was “too Remain focussed” under Labour MP Hilary Benn’s chairmanship.

she was resigning as a government parliamentary private secretary to have more time to focus on her committee work to help achieve the right Brexi.

Trump has suggested the North Korea summit could still be on, after praising Kim Jong-un for a “nice statement” despite the US significantly pulling out of the meeting earlier this week.

Trump said he was still carrying out talks with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un , hinting the two might plan a meeting at a further date in a u-turn.

He told a press conference this afternoon: “It was a nice statement they put out; we’ll see what happens.

“They very much want to do it, we’d like to do. We’re going to see what happens.”

Trump tweeted “Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea.

“We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace.
The US President’s statement comes just days after he announced plans to scrap his scheduled and much-anticipated North Korean peace summit meeting with Kim Jong-un.

In a letter sent to the North Korean dictator on Thursday, Trump said the meeting on June 12 would be called off “based on tremendous anger and open hostility” shown by Pyongyang.

He wrote: Based on the anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.

“The world and North Korea has lost a tremendous opportunity for peace and great prosperity.

“This missed opportunity is truly a sad moment in history.”

Trump declared his military was “ready” for battle and boasted America’s “massive” nuclear capabilities, amid rising tensions between the two states.

This comes after North Korean Vice President, Mike Pence lashed out Trump, calling him “stupid and ignorant”.

Yesterday, North Korea destroyed its Punggye-ri nuclear test site including three nuclear tunnels, observation buildings, witnessed.

Relations between the US and North Korean became progressively optimistic over the few months, after Kim Jong-un invited Mr Trumfor a meeting in March.

former CIA chief Mike Pompeo flew to Pyongyang for a meeting with Kim-Jong un, declaring the two had built a “good relationship”.

This month, North Korea released three Americans from prison and claimed it had suspended all its nuclear weapon tests.

the rush-hour crush, the government has said, and they should have the right to sue employers if they are not offered promotion or jobs because of their weight and obsese.

Prof Stephan Bevan, of the Institute for Employment Studies, said business should make more “accommodations” for workers carrying excess weight, to add it was time those suffering “functional impairment” were supported at work in the same way those with other health conditions might.

Some Critics called “ridiculous”, with concessions for the obese likely to resentment among fellow and workers.

But speaking at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, said the conditions should be made a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act(rule).

It’s the same as if you went for a job and didnt get it because you were a woman,”

A lifestyle expert, said “Being fat is not a disability. If obese people are to be given special privileges, why not alcoholics, smokers and compulsive gamblers?” ( Obese people )

It comes as projections to be presented at the congress by the UK Heart Forum and Institute of Technology in Ireland show that five million Britons will be morbidly obese by 2035, the Body Mass Index of those aged over 40 doubling within 20 years.

World Bank, IMF balk over billions in secret China loans to poor nations

WASHINGTON POST , China has showered $10 billion on debt-laden Ecuador over the past six years for energy and infrastructure projects : part of a global effort by Beijing in China to finance development in poor countries that are rich with natural resources.

Yet, terms on billions of dollars in Chinese financing across Africa, Latin America and Asia remain most secret. In Ecuador, for example, not even the oil minister knows what strings are attached to his country’s loans. ( China loans )

( China loans ) China’s secrecy-shrouded, billion-dollar lending programme for a poverty-stricken country that are rich in natural resources is spurring a backlash from the US, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They want Beijing to reveal more about its loans, and they want recipients to be more transparent about their own financial condition, including debt levels.

The pressure on China for added transparency comes as the Trump administration is squaring off with Beijing over what the US calls unfair trade practices

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports while also cracking down on the country’s investments in American businesses.

The two sides called a truce on Saturday.

“If you ask China for its terms you will not find them,” Mr David Malpass, the Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs, said in a speech earlier this year, referring to loans made to Venezuela that were denominated in barrels of oil.

The opaque lending “undercuts the incentives of recipient governments to improve their business environments, governance structures”, Mr Malpass said, and the deals “often consist of long-term contracts for commodity exports at prices favourable for China

China has resisted, in part over concerns that other members would have a say in multilateral debt restructuring negotiations that could affect on Beijing’s interests. The foreign ministry on Monday said its economic cooperation with other countries “is always above board and has no strings attached”, adding that it follows the principles of “equality, openness, mutual respect, and win-win outcomes”.

“We abide by market laws and international rules. We pay great attention to debt sustainability,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters on Monday. “We hope relevant countries can view this in an objective way and invest their time and energy in making contributions to other countries’ development instead of making irresponsible remarks on other countries’ efforts.”

The IMF released a policy paper in March examining public debt levels in low-income developing countries, a document interpreted as a criticism of China’s lending practices though it scarcely mentioned the country.

A May 8 statement from the fund emphasized “debt distress” in 15 African nations, but without naming China as the culprit.

The Trump administration is also targeting China’s relationship with the World Bank, where the country remains a recipient of development money. The US argues that the world’s second-largest economy no longer needs assistance from donor nations and is urging the bank to review the arrangement and wean China off its programmes more quickly.

The World Bank loaned China $2.47 billion 2017, the most since 1998. In a deal this year with the Trump administration to increase its capital by US$13, the bank agreed to review its graduation policy, according to a bank official.

The US campaign reflects concern in Washington that China’s expanding role in the developing world will undermine American influence, a fear that dates to the George W. Bush administration. The Trump administration’s National Defence Strategy released in January accused China of trying to gain “veto authority” over other nations’ economic decisions, and it has also specifically cited state-investment and loans as a way Beijing was pulling Latin America “into its orbit”.

The dispute over China’s development loans is just one front in that broader economic conflict with the US, the subject of talks in Washington between Chinese Vice-Premier and top administration officials last week.

China has vowed to revenge for any tariffs by imposing its own duties against US exports.

China’s foreign infrastructure spending has encourage by its Belt and Road Initiative statement in 2013.

China provided $354 billion in overseas financial support from 2000 to 2014,

After 2010, the annual flow of money from China has exceeded funding from the US, according to the group.

But there is an important difference between the two countries’ aid. While 93 per cent of US financial support during the period came in the form of direct aid or loans made on discounted terms, less than a quarter of Chinese assistance did, according to AidData.

“These loans are a problem,” said Mr Edwin Truman, a researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and a former Treasury official. “If a country gets in trouble, or is in arrears, China or the recipient country may not alert the IMF. And then they find themselves seeking debt relief from the IMF.”

Russia has accepted more in Chinese development funding than other countries.

China normally demands public-sector assets as collateral. It does not always provide information on its loans’ structure, or when a debt is in arrears, according to an IMF official. A lot of recipient nations also dosent provide data on their debt and economic indicators. That means ratings agencies, international lending institutions and banks may miss red flags before a country needs a bailout, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. ( China loans )

In Ecuador’s case, the debt-laden country – with $98 billion economy – was desperate for cash, having surpassed its legal borrowing limit of 40 percent of gross domestic product in 2016.

Even if China’s loan to the country may eventually be repaid with oil exports, oil minister Carlos Perez dosen’t know the precise terms of the arrangement, demonstrating the opacity of the Chinese debt.

The offer includes the participation of a Chinese state-owned investment corporation, which has proposed taking a 70 percent stake in the project. The government and central bank are nevertheless worried that $75 billion economy, one of the smallest in Southeast Asia, will struggle to repay its share of the debt. ( China loans )