Trump upbeat after conversation with Mexican President

January 28, 2017

Washington, Jan 28: US President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” telephonic conversation with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto amid a diplomatic spat over Washington's plans for a border wall. During a joint press conference with visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, Trump confirmed that he and the Mexican president spoke for nearly an hour, Efe news reported. “It was a very, very friendly call,” Trump said. “We are going to be working on a fair relationship, a new relationship,” the US president said. “We are going to be renegotiating our trade deals.”

dtmaxThe conversation came a day after Peña Nieto cancelled a planned visit to Washington in response to Trump's signing an executive order to initiate his promised border wall and insisting again that Mexico would ultimately pay for the barrier. Peña Nieto's office issued a statement on Friday confirming the phone call and saying that the two presidents agreed to resolve their differences over the wall as part comprehensive discussions about all aspects of the bilateral relationship.

Trump and Peña Nieto also resolved to instruct their respective staffs not to make any further public comments about the issue of the wall, according to the Mexican government statement. On Wednesday, the US president signed several executive orders affecting immigration, including one that assigns federal funds for the construction of the border wall.

In an interview with ABC News later that day, Trump said that while the US government would pay the initial construction costs, Mexico would ultimately reimburse Washington. Peña Nieto has repeatedly insisted that Mexico will not foot the bill for the wall and did so again on Wednesday. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Trump said Mexico should pay for the wall because it had long benefited from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at Americans' expense.

Citing the persistent US trade deficit with its southern neighbor, he said it would be better to cancel his January 31 meeting with Peña Nieto if Mexico refused to defray the cost of the wall. Within hours of Trump's tweets, Peña Nieto announced that he would not be travelling to Washington, though the US leader described the cancellation as a mutual decision.

“The president of Mexico and myself have agreed to cancel our planned meeting scheduled for next week,” Trump said Thursday during a gathering with congressional Republicans in Philadelphia. “Unless Mexico is going to treat the US fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route. We have no choice,” the president said.

Later Thursday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Trump intended to impose a 20 per cent tax on imports from Mexico to cover the cost of the wall. The tax, however, cannot be immediately levied because of NAFTA, the 1994 accord linking the US, Canada and Mexico that the president has repeatedly criticized as a destroyer of American jobs.

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News Network
June 4,2020

London, Jun 4: Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, has spoken about events following the death of George Floyd saying she was sorry that children had to grow up in a world where racism still existed and that current events in the United States were "devastating".

"I know you know that black lives matter," Meghan said in a video she recorded for students graduating from her old high school in Los Angeles which was aired on Wednesday.

The death of Floyd has become the latest flashpoint for long-simmering rage over police brutality against African Americans and led to nationwide protests, some violent, with curfews imposed in some cities to quell the disorder.

"For the past couple of weeks I've been planning on saying a few words to you for your graduation and as we've all seen over the last week what is happening in our country, and in our state and in our home town of LA is absolutely devastating," said Meghan, whose mother is African American and father is white.

"First thing I want to say to you is that I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you have to grow up in a world where this is still present," she said in her message to the girls at the Immaculate Heart High School.

The duchess, a former US actress and wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, said she wanted to say "the right thing" and was nervous her words would be "picked apart".

"The only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd's life mattered, and Breonna Taylor's life mattered, and Philando Castile's life mattered and Tamir Rice's life mattered and so did so many other people whose names we know, and whose names we do not know," she said.

Britain's royal family by tradition does not comment on political issues. However, Meghan and Harry stepped down from their official royal roles at the end of March and are now living in Los Angeles with their baby son Archie.

In her message, the 38-year-old reflected on her own memories of the 1992 LA riots.

"Those memories don't go away and I can't imagine that at 17 or 18 years old, which is how old you are now, that you would have to have a different version of that same type of experience," she said.

"That's something you should have an understanding of, but an understanding of as a history lesson not as your reality. So I'm sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to the place you deserve it to be."

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News Network
January 3,2020

New Delhi, Jan 3: US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday warned America's airlines and their pilots that there is risk involved in operating flights in Pakistan airspace due to "extremist or militant activity", according to an official document.

"Exercise caution during flight operations. There is a risk to US civil aviation operating in the territory and airspace of Pakistan due to extremist/militant activity," said the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a notice to airmen (NOTAM) dated December 30, 2019.

The NOTAM is applicable to all US-based airlines and US-based pilots.

The US regulator said in its NOTAM that there continues to be a risk to US civil aviation sector from attacks against airports and aircraft in Pakistan, particularly for aircraft on the ground and aircraft operating at low altitudes, including during the arrival and departure phases of flights.

"The ongoing presence of extremist/militant elements operating in Pakistan poses a continued risk to US civil aviation from small-arms fire, complex attacks against airports, indirect weapons fire, and anti-aircraft fire, any of which could occur with little or no warning," it said.

The FAA said that while, to date, there have been no reports of man-portable air defense systems or Manpads being used against the civil aviation sector in Pakistan, some extremist or terrorist groups operating there are suspected of having access to these Manpads.

"As a result, there is potential risk for extremists/militants to target civil aviation in Pakistan with Manpads," it said.

The regulator added that pilots or airlines must report safety or security incidents - which may happen in Pakistan - to the FAA.

Pakistan on July 16 last year opened its airspace for India after about five months of restrictions imposed in the wake of a standoff with New Delhi.

Following the Balakot airstrikes by the Indian Air Force, Pakistan had closed its airspace on February 26 last year.

Pakistan in October last year had denied India's request to allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's VVIP flight to use its airspace for his visit to Saudi Arabia over the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

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January 3,2020

Washington, Jan 3: US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who died in Baghdad "in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad," the Pentagon said Thursday.

"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," the Department of Defense said.

Following Soleimani's death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation.

"US' act of international terrorism, assassinating General Soleimani—the most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah,Al Qaeda, is extremely dangerous & foolish escalation. US bears responsibility for all consequences of rogue adventurism." said Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

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