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Hello Jammu News at 5:57:00 PM 0


Washington, Mar 31 :  US President Donald Trump has said that the next 30 days are very vital for America in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as the confirmed cases of those infected by the deadly disease soured to 164,000 and fatalities crossed 3,100 in the country.

His remarks came a day after he extended the "social distancing" guidelines until April 30, expecting the peak death rate from COVID-19 to hit the country in two weeks.

"Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days, and this is a very vital 30 days," Trump told reporters at his daily White House news conference on Monday, his second consecutive one in the Rose Garden.

More than 250 million of America's 330 million population are in stay at home order and more than two dozen states have been notified as major disaster declaration, in addition to declaration of national emergency.

The Army has been roped in to build makeshift hospitals at convention centers, racetracks, public parks across the country.

Auto companies have stopped manufacturing cars and instead manufacturing ventilators and other equipment to be used in the treatment of hundreds and thousands of Americans who are expected to fall ill due to COVID-19; something which was seen only during a war time.

"We are sort of putting it all on the line this 30 days, so important because we have to get back, but the more we dedicate ourselves today, the more quickly we will emerge on the other side of the crisis, and that is the time we're waiting for," Trump told reporters, reflecting upon the seriousness of the pandemic that has hit the US hardest among all the countries.

So far more than a million Americans have been tested for coronavirus, which is the highest for any country and its testing rate has now increased to 100,000 per day.

The President said that he will announce tightening of the guidelines, which he argued is having a big impact.

Manufacturing of testing kits and medical equipment including ventilators, face masks have been ramped up, he said, adding that there will be no shortage in the coming weeks.

Dr Deborah Bix, a member of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus, had a day earlier said that even with all the present steps, the death toll in the US could be between 100,000 to 200,000. On Monday she said that the analysis of the fresh data would be presented before the president on Tuesday.

Trump told reporters that he is looking into the possibility of everybody wearing a mask in the public.

"We're getting certainly the number of masks that you need. We are in the process of talking about things. I saw his suggestion on that, so we'll take a look at it for a period of time. Not forever. I mean, you know, we want our country back. We're not going to be wearing masks forever, but it could be for a short period of time after we get back into gear," he said.

Responding to a question on suggestions about using GPS for social distancing, he described this as a very severe idea.

"I've been hearing about it. GPS. What happens, a siren goes off if you get too close to somebody? That's pretty severe," he said.

Trump told reporters that saving the lives of the people is his top priority, followed by the nation's economy.

"My focus is saving lives, that is the only focus I can have. We are going to bring the economy back and we will bring it back fast," he said.

"The economy is number two on my list. First I want to save a lot of lives. I am going to get the economy back. I think the economy is going to come back very fast," he said.

Trump said that the extension of social distancing measure till April 30 is based on modelling that shows the peak in fatalities will not arrive for another two weeks.

" They say modelling also shows that by very vigorously following these guidelines, we can save more than one million American lives. Think of that, one million American lives. Our future is in our own hands, and the choices and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus and really the fate of our victory," the President added.

According to reports, the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has soared past 35,000 while the number of confirmed cases topped 750,000 globally.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:36:00 PM 0


Washington, Mar 26 :  The US Senate passed the nation's largest-ever rescue package late Wednesday, a USD 2 trillion lifeline to suffering Americans, depleted hospitals and an economy all ravaged by a rapidly spreading coronavirus crisis.

The monster deal thrashed out between Republicans, Democrats and the White House includes cash payments to American taxpayers and several hundred billion dollars in grants and loans to small businesses and core industries. It also buttresses hospitals desperately in need of medical equipment and expands unemployment benefits.

The measure cleared the Senate by an overwhelming majority and was headed next to the House of Representatives, which must also pass it before it goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:43:00 PM 0


Washington, Mar 25 :  President Donald Trump has a new daily ritual now that the pandemic has put the kibosh on the signature campaign rallies that helped him get elected four years ago: the coronavirus briefing.

Standing on the once-abandoned White House briefing room stage flanked by public health experts, Trump holds court with reporters and directly addresses the American people, providing updates on his administration's efforts to combat the pandemic and trying to demonstrate that he's in charge.

The updates are far more staid than his raucous rallies and lack the adoring crowds and Lock her up! chants of the political gatherings. But they include many of the same features as his now-on-ice mass rallies: plenty of self-congratulation and airing of grievances, press bashing, tirades against his critics, and an ample dose of misleading information.

That, combined with measured updates from public health officials, has created a sometimes confusing split screen for Americans watching at home, many under stay-at-home restrictions and anxiously tuning in to cable news for updates.

I don't want to stand here for two hours and do this," Trump told reporters during Monday's marathon briefing, which stretched to nearly two hours.

But I think it's important. ... Give us any question about it because I think it's important for the public to know.

For the first few days of the crisis, the briefings were led by Vice President Mike Pence, who offered buttoned-up updates in a calming, paternal tone. But Trump, who never likes to cede the spotlight, quickly decided to make himself the star of the daily show.

Now, every day of the week, including Tuesday, when he sat down for a separate Fox News town hall in the Rose Garden, Trump emerges from behind closed doors and reads a summary of his administration's latest efforts.

Then he invites other administration officials to make remarks from the often-crowded stage where social distancing recommendations are flouted.

Then he opens things up for questions, and the discussion can go in many directions.

Trump's disposition varies. On some days, he has struck an urgent tone, calling on Americans to come together to defeat a common enemy.

On others, he has angrily defended his administration's handling of the pandemic and lashed out at reporters, including those who have pressed him on the economic impact of mass closures, testing shortfalls and the struggles of doctors and nurses to find basic supplies.

I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people, he told one reporter who had asked what message he had for frightened Americans.

Some around Trump have suggested that less is more that he only attend the briefings when there is big news to announce.

"You want to keep the air of importance any time he steps into the room, said former Trump communications aide Jason Miller. But Trump has told people that he knows the nation is watching and that he doesn't want to give up the stage to deputies, who in some cases have refuted his commentary in real time on stage.

I'll see you all tomorrow," he assured as he left the stage Tuesday.

Indeed, the briefings have been racking up ratings.

During five of last week's briefings, more than twice as many people tuned in to the networks than had during corresponding times a year ago, according to the Nielsen viewer tracking company.

And Friday's lunchtime briefing reached 8.28 million viewers on Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC alone up from 2.82 million viewers during the same slot last year.

It's a dramatic resurgence for a format that had become must-see TV during the early months of Trump's administration. But he effectively killed the White House press briefing in March 2019 and it has now been more than a year since the last briefing by a White House press secretary.

The Trump briefings, which often include information that is later clarified or corrected, stand in sharp contrast to those of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which have been widely praised. While the Democrat has generally tried to provide an even-keeled, fact-based approach aided by endless PowerPoint slides, he was far more urgent Tuesday as he pleaded with the federal government to do more to help the state as it struggles to cope with a flood of more than 25,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

"What am I going to do with 400 ventilators?!" Cuomo bellowed in response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's latest offer. You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators!

He also pushed back on Trump's stated wish to reopen the country for business in the coming weeks to stanch a bleeding economy. What is this? Some modern Darwinian theory of natural selection? he asked.

Trump, for his part, has said he believes the White House updates build confidence in the federal response while providing officials with fresh ideas.

Some of the questions lead to us solving a problem. You bring up problems that people didn't know existed, he said Monday.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:15:00 PM 0
US President Donald Trump


Washington, Feb 5 :  Headed into the election year, President Donald Trump told lawmakers that in three years of his presidency, the US has moved forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago.

Making a strong pitch for his re-election and confident of his acquittal from impeachment, Trump, in his joint address to the US Congress told Congressmen that the American dream is back - bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.

Three years ago, we launched the Great American Comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results, he said as he listed his achievements of the three years and giving his vision for the next term.

Trump said that the US administration is strongly defending the national security and "as we defend American lives, we are working to end America's wars in the Middle East."

Stressing that his administration has undertaken unprecedented effort to secure the southern border of the US with Mexico, Trump said that the country "should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans - not criminal aliens.

Speaking about the US-China relationship, he said for decades, China has taken advantage of the US, "now we have changed that, but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Days ago, we signed the ground breaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the US," he said.

Trump said that the US is coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China.

"My Administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat (coronavirus)," he said.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:08:00 PM 0
US President Donald Trump


Washington, Feb 5 :  The US is working closely with Beijing to combat the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump said, as the deadly infection claimed 490 lives in China and spread to over 20 countries, including India and America, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency.

The US on Tuesday evacuated over 300 more people on two new flights out of the Chinese city Wuhan, the epicentre of the fast-spreading new coronavirus. Last week, it evacuated 195 Americans from Wuhan.

"Protecting Americans' health also means fighting infectious diseases," Trump said in his State of the Union speech on late Tuesday night while highlighting the initiatives taken by his administration in the healthcare sector.

"We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat," he said.

The death toll in coronavirus outbreak rose to 490 in China on Tuesday. One death was reported earlier this week from the Philippines.

Worldwide, the virus, so far, has spread to Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, India, Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, Finland, Spain, UAE and Sweden.

"As we pray for all who are sick, we know that America is constantly achieving new medical breakthroughs," Trump said in his speech.

The president underlined that his administration has launched ambitious new initiatives to substantially improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer's, and those struggling with mental health challenges.

Trump said a good life for American families also requires the most affordable, innovative and high-quality healthcare system.

"Before I took office, health insurance premiums had more than doubled in just 5 years. I moved quickly to provide affordable alternatives. Our new plans are up to 60 per cent less expensive.

"I have also made an ironclad pledge to American families: We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions -- that is a guarantee," he said.

The president said his administration will always protect the Medicare and the Social Security schemes.

Asserting that his administration will never let socialism "destroy" US healthcare, he said, "As we work to improve Americans' healthcare, there are those who want to take away your healthcare, take away your doctor, and abolish private insurance entirely."

"One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our healthcare system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million Americans," he added.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:59:00 PM 0
US President Donald Trump


Washington, Feb 1 :  US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday lifted US restrictions on landmines, saying new technology made them safer, outraging campaigners for the abolition of the explosives that maim thousands of civilians each year.

In the latest reversal of a policy of his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump gave the green light to a new generation of "non-persistent" landmines that can be switched off or destroyed remotely rather than staying active in the ground forever.

"The Department of Defense has determined that restrictions imposed on American forces by the Obama administration's policy could place them at a severe disadvantage during a conflict against our adversaries," a White House statement said.

"The president is unwilling to accept this risk to our troops... President Trump is rebuilding our military, and it is stronger than ever."

Obama in 2014 banned the use of anti-personnel landmines with the exception, under pressure from military planners, of the Korean peninsula where the explosives dot the last Cold War frontier with North Korea.

Obama also ordered the destruction of anti-personnel stockpiles not designed to defend South Korea and said the United States would not cooperate with other nations in developing landmines.

The White House said the US military will now be free to deploy landmines around the world "in exceptional circumstances."

In rescinding the White House directive, the Trump administration said policy would now be set by the Pentagon, which said it was still prohibiting traditional landmines that cannot be turned off or destroyed remotely.

The new mines are set to self-destruct within 30 days but can be destroyed in as little as two hours if necessary, Vic Mercado, the Pentagon official in charge of the policy, told reporters.

In his estimation, there is only a six in a million chance that the self-destruction system will fail.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the United States took into account the safety of civilians but considered landmines among the "important tools" for the military.

"At the end of day, we want to make sure that we have all the tools in our toolkit that are legally available and effective to ensure our success and to ensure the protection of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines," he told reporters.

Handicap International, a French-based aid and pressure group for people disabled by conflict, said it was "revolted" by Trump's decision.

"Trump's announcement on anti-personnel mines is a death sentence for civilians," said Anne Hery, the group's advocacy director.

"There are acts of war that are simply outside all rules. Mines belong to that category."

Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat active on human rights issues, fired off a letter to the Pentagon voicing alarm at the change.

Any self-destructing mines need to have humans in control, considering that modern battlefields and civilian populations move so quickly, he said.

"I am proud that the United States is no longer a source of injuries and deaths caused by this indiscriminate weapon. The world is better for it," he wrote.

"I urge you, in the strongest terms possible, not to undo decades of precedent on anti-personnel landmines."

The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research and advocacy group, said that "smart" landmines have failed to work and been rejected by all NATO allies of the United States.

"The world has moved on from the use of landmines. The United States should, too," said Jeff Abramson, a senior fellow at the association.

More than 160 countries, including most of the Western world, are party to the 1999 Ottawa Convention that aims to eliminate anti-personnel mines.

Major outliers include the United States, Russia and China, as well as India and Pakistan.

Neither Obama's nor Trump's orders affect anti-tank mines, which are not prohibited.

The United States has not deployed anti-personnel mines in any significant way since the 1991 Gulf War.

In 2018, only one country -- Myanmar -- as well as a small number of non-state armed groups used landmines, according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, which researches an annual report for a pressure group.

The study found that 6,897 people worldwide were killed or injured by mines or leftover explosives from war in 2018.

Nearly three-quarters of victims whose identities were known were civilians, and more than half of the civilians were children, it said.

Researchers say that children are especially vulnerable to explosives, which they can mistake for toys.
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Hello Jammu News at 11:13:00 PM 0
President Donald Trump and John Bolton


Washington, Jan 27 :  President Donald Trump Monday denied that he told his former national security advisor John Bolton that military aid to Ukraine was tied to Kiev investigating his political rivals.

Trump's tweets came after The New York Times reported Sunday that Bolton alleges as much in a draft of his upcoming book.

"I never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination," Trump tweeted in the early hours of Monday.

"If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book."

Citing Bolton's unpublished manuscript, The Times wrote that Trump told Bolton he wanted to keep frozen USD 391 million in aid to Ukraine until Kiev officials helped with a probe into his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Trump was impeached last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

House of Representatives prosecutors have spent three days laying out a detailed case that Trump withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart to open an investigation into Biden and the former vice president's son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

Democrats quickly seized on the report to press demands that Bolton and other key people in the Trump administration be called testify in Trump's impeachment trial.



A key point of Trump's impeachment defense has been that there was no quid-pro-quo.

Trump's team has maintained that the holdup in aid was separate from his requests for an investigation into the Bidens. Bolton's reported assertion in the manuscript would undercut this.

The Democrats want key Trump administration officials to testify -- including Bolton and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney -- believing they know a lot about Trump's dealings with Ukraine. Bolton has said he is willing to testify if subpoenaed.

In response to The Times' report, the lead House manager in the trial, Adam Schiff, tweeted that Trump had "blocked our request for Bolton's testimony."

"Now we see why: Bolton directly contradicts the heart of the President's defense," Schiff wrote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Senate Republicans' refusal to hear Bolton or other witnesses and documents is "now even more indefensible."

"The choice is clear: our Constitution, or a cover-up," she said.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Republicans to call for witness testimony during the impeachment trial.

But Republicans, who hold a 53-47 edge, have shown little inclination to break ranks with a president who has a history of lashing out ferociously at his perceived enemies.

Sixty-seven senators, a two-thirds majority, are needed to remove Trump from office.
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Hello Jammu News at 11:17:00 PM 1
US President Donald Trump


Washington, Jan 26 :  President Donald Trump's lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump's dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House.

They're here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history," White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators.

And we can't allow that to happen." The Trump legal team's arguments in the rare Saturday session were aimed at rebutting allegations that the president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then obstructed Congress as it tried to investigate.

The lawyers are mounting a wide-ranging, aggressive defense asserting an expansive view of presidential powers and portraying Trump as besieged by political opponents determined to ensure he won't be reelected this November.

They're asking you to tear up all the ballots across this country on your own initiative, take that decision away from the American people," Cipollone said.

Though Trump is the one on trial, the defense team made clear that it intends to paint the impeachment case as a mere continuation of the investigations that have shadowed the president since before he took office including one into allegations of Russian election interference on his behalf.

Trump attorney Jay Sekulow suggested Democrats were investigating the president over Ukraine simply because they couldn't bring him down for Russia.

That for this," said Sekulow, holding up a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, which he accused Democrats of attempting to relitigate."

That report detailed ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia but did not allege a criminal conspiracy to tip the election.

From the White House, Trump tweeted his response: Any fair minded person watching the Senate trial today would be able to see how unfairly I have been treated and that this is indeed the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax that EVERYBODY, including the Democrats, truly knows it is."

His team made only a two-hour presentation, reserving the heart of its case for Monday.

Acquittal appears likely, given that Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and a two-thirds vote would be required for conviction and removal from office.

Republican senators already eager to clear Trump said Saturday that the White House presentation had shredded the Democratic case.

Several of the senators shook hands with Trump's lawyers after their presentation.

The visitors galleries were filled, onlookers watching for the historic proceedings and the rare weekend session of Senate.

The Trump attorneys are responding to two articles of impeachment approved last month by the House one that accuses him of encouraging Ukraine to investigate Biden at the same time the administration withheld military aid from the country, and the other that accuses him of obstructing Congress by directing aides not to testify or produce documents.

Trump's defense team took center stage following three days of methodical and passionate arguments from Democrats, who wrapped up Friday by warning that Trump will persist in abusing his power and endangering American democracy unless Congress intervenes to remove him before the 2020 election.

They also implored Republicans to allow new testimony to be heard before senators render a final verdict.

Give America a fair trial, said California Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead Democratic impeachment manager. She's worth it. In making their case that Trump invited Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election, the seven Democratic prosecutors peppered their arguments with video clips, email correspondence and lessons in American history.

At stake, they said, was the security of U.S. elections, America's place in the world and checks on presidential power On Saturday morning, House managers made the procession across the Capitol at 9:30 to deliver the 28,578-page record of their case to the Senate.

Republicans accused Democrats of cherrypicking evidence and omitting information favorable to the president, casting in a nefarious light actions that Trump was legitimately empowered to take. They focused particular scorn on Schiff, trying to undercut his credibility.

Schiff later told reporters: When your client is guilty, when your client is dead to rights, you don't want to talk about your client, you want to attack the prosecution.

The Trump team had teased the idea that it would draw attention on Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukraine gas company Burisma, while his father was vice president. But neither Biden was a focus of Saturday arguments.

Instead, Republicans argued that there was no evidence that Trump made the security aid contingent on Ukraine announcing an investigation into the Bidens and that Ukraine didn't even know that the money had been paused until shortly before it was released.

Trump had reason to be concerned about corruption in Ukraine and the aid was ultimately released, they said.

Most of the Democratic witnesses have never spoken to the president at all, let alone about Ukraine security assistance," said deputy White House Counsel Michael Purpura.
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Hello Jammu News at 8:16:00 PM 0
US President Donald Trump & UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson


London, Jan 25 :  Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed telecoms security with US President Donald Trump as he prepares to announce if Britain will use China's Huawei in its 5G networks, officials said Saturday.

In a phone call on Friday evening, the two leaders "discussed a range of issues, including cooperation to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks", a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

A White House statement also confirmed they discussed "working together to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks".

The United States has banned Huawei from the rollout of its next generation 5G mobile networks because of concerns -- strongly denied -- that the firm could be under the control of Beijing.

Washington has been lobbying London to do the same, but there is speculation that it will grant the firm some kind of limited access.

Huawei is already well established in British 3G and 4G networks, and officials have warned that banning it would be hugely costly and delay the rollout of 5G technology.

Intelligence agencies also believe that they can contain any potential risk, although Johnson will have to make the final decision, expected next week.

In his call with Trump, the prime minister also raised the "need to secure justice" for the family of Harry Dunn, Downing Street said.

The British teenager died in August when his motorbike was hit by a car being driven by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat.

British authorities have charged Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving, but the US refuses to extradite her.

Johnson "reiterated the need for the individual involved to return to the UK", the spokeswoman said.
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Hello Jammu News at 8:08:00 PM 0
Donald Trump


Washington, Jan 23 :  Led by Congressman Adam Schiff, House Democrats on Wednesday began making a strong case before Senators to remove President Donald Trump in the third ever impeachment trial in the American history.

Knowing that they are unlikely to succeed in ousting Trump from the White House as Republicans enjoy a 53-47 majority in the 100-membered Senate, the managers of the House, wherein Democrats enjoy a majority, had their arguments on the Senate floor with an eye on the November elections.

Making a strong plea before Senators, Democratic Congressman Schiff, who is the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, accused Trump of using his power to cheat in the elections.

Today we will begin our trial with the factual chronology. The facts are damning. We're going to lay them out in great detail in our chronology today, Schiff told reporters before he went to the Senate to argue against the president.

In his opening argument, Schiff quoted founding father Alexander Hamilton who imagined a scenario in which future president would put personal interest ahead of that of the nation.

We are here today in this hallowed chamber, undertaking this solemn action for only the third time in history, because Donald J Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has acted precisely as Hamilton and his contemporaries had feared," he asserted.

President Trump solicited foreign interference in our democratic elections, abusing the power of his office by seeking help from abroad to improve his reelection prospects at home. And when he was caught, he used the powers of that office to obstruct the investigation into his own misconduct," Schiff said.

The 435-member House on December 18 charged Trump with "high crimes and misdemeanors" and impeached him for pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential Democratic rival for the current president in the 2020 elections.

The days proceedings on Wednesday began with Senate Chaplain Barry Black prayer.

"Help them remember that patriots reside on both sides of the aisle, that words have consequences, and that how something is said can be as important as what is said. Give them a civility built upon integrity that brings consistency in their beliefs and actions," Black said.

The impeachment trial is being presided over by the Supreme Court's Chief Justice John Roberts. As per the ruled of the trial passed by the Senate Tuesday, House managers and lawyers on behalf of Trump will have 24 hours to present their cases over the three days.

As per the decorum guidelines, during the impeachment trial, Senators are supposed to stick to their seats and not talk to others, and not bring cell phones or tablets to the floor.

But a number of Senators on both sides were seen breaking this decorum.

I am not somebody who is very good at sitting at one place, said Senator Pat Thune.

On the Senate floor, Senators were allowed to drink only water and milk. A large number of Senators were seen drinking milk.

Trump's lawyers led by Pat Ciplollone and Jay Sekulow are planning to make a strong defense for the president. Based on their multiple television interviews and interaction with reporters they are likely to paint Trump as a victim of a partisan charade.

We will challenge aggressively the case that they're putting forward based on what we're hearing, and we also have an affirmative case as well, Sekulow told CNN on Wednesday.

They're not here to steal one election. They're here to steal two elections. It's buried in the small print of their ridiculous articles of impeachment. They want to remove President Trump from the ballot, Cipollone said.

Soon after Trump returned to the White House after attending the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, the White House alleged that Schiff's one-sided impeachment report -- the document that serves as the basis for Democrats' entire case -- is nothing but a partisan hatchet job.

Rather than drawing more attention to their flimsy, fake 'investigation,' Schiff chose to deflect and make up more lies about President Trump, it said.

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein said the case made by the House impeachment managers is a fact-based case that lays out how Trump tried to trade nearly USD 400 million in appropriated funds for Ukraine in exchange for its interference in our upcoming presidential election.

We also continue to hear from the House managers about why we need to have access to documents and witnesses, she said.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:50:00 PM 0
Donald Trump


Davos, Jan 22 :  US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would have loved to have met Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg at Davos but added that she should not focus her anger on the United States.

"I would have loved to have seen her," Trump told reporters before leaving the luxury Swiss resort, while claiming that countries other than the United States were the worst polluters and "Greta ought to focus on those places".

Trump had launched an extraordinary attack on environmental campaigners in a speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday, saying they were "perennial prophets of doom" and the "heirs of yesterday's foolish fortune tellers".

Thunberg sat quietly through the speech and was unrepentant in later remarks. "Our house is still on fire," she said.

Trump denied he thought global warming was a hoax, saying: "No not at all -- I think aspects of it are." He said campaigners had put global warming "at a level that is unrealistic" to the point where people cannot live their lives.

Also speaking at Davos, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended the administration's policies, saying its views had been misinterpreted.

"The US administration believes in clean air and clean water. This is a very complicated issue. We support a clean environment we just think it can be done in a way that is pro-business," he said.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:01:00 PM 0
Donald Trump


Washington, Jan 21 :  Legal filings to the Senate have laid out the arguments that will be made in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, where he faces two distinct allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

A look at the main points Democrats are making as they argue for Trump's removal from office, and Trump's response as the defense team pushes for his speedy acquittal.

The GOP arguments have already raised charges of distortion.

Democrats say Trump abused the power of his office by urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July 25 phone call to announce an investigation of political rival Joe Biden and the Democrats. At the time, Trump was withholding hundreds of millions of dollar in military aid to the country.

The sought-after investigation into Biden, as well as into a baseless theory that Ukraine had interfered in the 2016 presidential election, was a solicitation to interfere in U.S. politics and served the political interests of the president rather than the national security interests of America, Democrats say, Trump's lawyers, meanwhile, contend there's no evidence beyond hearsay that the president conditioned the release of aid on Ukraine agreeing to an investigation.

The money was released without any investigations being undertaken and, they say, Zelenskiy didn't even know it had been suspended until shortly before it was released, even though U.S. officials testified to House investigators that Ukraine had inquired about the delay.

The legal team says that Trump had legitimate concerns about corruption in Ukraine and that it was appropriate for him to bring up Biden on the call since his son Hunter sat on the board of a gas company, Burisma, that was suspected of corruption.

Trump has sought, without evidence, to implicate the Bidens in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration's diplomatic dealings with Kyiv.

Though the timing raised concerns among anti-corruption advocates, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either the former vice president or his son.

In any event, Trump's lawyers said pauses on foreign aid are neither unusual nor inappropriate, and it's a decision that rests squarely with the commander of chief. Presidents have the right to exert their authority without their political opponents second-guessing their motive or intent, they argue.

The Trump administration obstructed Congress every step of the way during the impeachment investigation, directing witnesses not to testify or turn over documents, according to House Democrats who pointedly note that it is the House and not the White House that gets to determine the scope of a such an inquiry.

They say that witnesses who did choose to come forward, either publicly or privately, endured public statements from the president that appeared aimed at discouraging them from cooperating. And multiple government agencies, including the State and Energy departments, followed the lead of the White House and refused to turn over documents.

The Trump legal team says there's nothing novel about the administration's defiance.

The lawyers said close and senior advisers to the president have long been understood to be immune from congressional testimony. On Monday, they pointed to opinions from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Opinion that supported that stance.

The lawyers noted that lawmakers began issuing subpoenas to witnesses even before the full House had formally voted on rules for the impeachment inquiry, something the Justice Department says makes those subpoenas legally unenforceable.

Democrats say the House has the sole power of impeachment, so the process can't be second-guessed by the administration.

When White House officials blocked Trump's advisers from testifying or turning over documents, defense lawyers say, they were protecting the prerogative of the presidency and not obstructing an investigation.

Democrats say Trump's conduct is precisely what the country's Founding Fathers had in mind when they created the mechanism to impeach and remove a president from power. Not only that, they described it in a filing as the framers' worst nightmare.

The Constitution sets a standard of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" for impeachment, and according to Democrats, it's a flexible enough threshold to reach the full range of potential Presidential misconduct."

Whether the allegations need not amount to crimes is a very significant point of contention. Trump's lawyers state contend that an impeachable offense requires especially egregious conduct that threatens the constitutional order and, specifically, that it requires a violation of established law."

Nothing the president is accused of, they say, comes close to meeting that standard.

And removing Trump from office under these facts would dilute the standards of impeachment, permanently weaken the power of the presidency and allow a hostile House to attack almost any presidential action by challenging a President's subjective motives."

One member of the president's legal team, Alan Dershowitz, said in Sunday talk shows that an impeachable offense must amount to criminal-like conduct."

Some legal scholars have strongly disputed that stance, and Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, called it an absurdist position." Ultimately, it's up to the Senate to decide.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:39:00 PM 0
Trump thanks farmers for backing him through China trade war


Austin, Jan 20 :  President Donald Trump thanked farmers Sunday for supporting him through a trade war with China as he promoted a new North American trade agreement and a separate one with China that he said will massively benefit farmers.

We did it, Trump said, recalling his campaign promises to improve America's trading relationships with other countries.

At one point during his address to the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention, Trump said he has strong support among farmers following his signing last week of a preliminary trade deal with China.

When Trump spoke to the American Farm Bureau Federation's last year, he urged farmers to continue supporting him even as they suffered financially in the fallout from his trade war with China and a partial shutdown of the federal government.

His follow-up speech Sunday at this year's convention in Austin, Texas, gave him a chance to make the case to farmers that he kept promises he made as a candidate to improve trade with China and separately with Canada and Mexico.

He thanked farmers for staying in the fight. You were always with me, Trump said.

You never even thought of giving up and we got it done. The Republican president wants another term in office and is seeking to shore up support among his base, including farmers.

Trump announced he is taking steps to protect the water rights of farmers and ranchers by directing the Army Corps of Engineers to immediately withdraw a new water supply rule and allow states to manage water resources based on their own needs and what the agricultural community wants.

Water is the lifeblood of agriculture and we will always protect your water supply, Trump said.

Trump signed a preliminary trade deal with China at the White House last Wednesday that commits Beijing to boosting its imports of U.S. manufacturing, energy and farm goods by 200 billion this year and next.

That includes larger purchases of soybeans and other farm goods expected to reach USD 40 billion a year, the U.S. has said, though critics wonder if China can meet the targets.

In Austin, Trump described the trade agreement with China as groundbreaking and said, We're going to sell the greatest product you've ever seen.

Also last week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a successor to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The administration designed the new agreement to return some factory production to the United States, mostly automobiles.

Trump said in Austin that U.S. farmers will also benefit under USMCA, which he said will massively boost exports for farmers, ranchers, growers from North to South and from sea to shining sea.

NAFTA had triggered a surge in trade among the three countries, but Trump and other critics blamed it for U.S. job losses brought about when American factories moved production south of the border to take advantage of low-wage labor in Mexico.

The House passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal in December. Trump said he would sign it after he returns from a trip to Europe this week.

In his remarks to farmers, Trump claimed his administration is doing things no other administration has ever done.

And what do I get out of it? I get impeached, he said. That's what I get. By these radical-left lunatics, I get impeached. But that's OK. The farmers are sticking with Trump. The president's trial in the Senate gets underway in earnest on Tuesday.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:14:00 PM 0
Trump's trial begins at the start of an election year


Washington, Jan 17 :  The US Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with quiet ceremony Thursday senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of impartial justice as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.

The trial, only the third such undertaking in American history, is unfolding at the start of the election year, a time of deep political division in the nation. Four of the senators sitting in judgment on Trump are running for the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge him in the fall.

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!" intoned the Senate's sergeant at arms, calling the proceedings to order just past noon.

Senators filled the chamber, an unusual sight in itself, sitting silently under strict rules that prohibit talking or cellphones, for a trial that will test not only Trump's presidency but also the nation's three branches of power and its system of checks and balances.

The Constitution mandates the chief justice serve as the presiding officer, and Roberts made the short trip across the street from the Supreme Court to the Capitol.

He has long insisted judges are not politicians and is expected to serve as a referee for the proceedings. Senators rose quickly when he appeared in his plain black robe.

"Will all senators now stand, and remain standing, and raise their right hand," Roberts said.

Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? The senators responded they would, and then they lined up to sign an oath book.

Trump faces two charges after the House voted to impeach him last month.

One, that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump is also charged with obstructing Congress' ensuing probe.

The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he dismissed the trial anew on Thursday at the White House: It's totally partisan. It's a hoax.

Eventual acquittal is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, new revelations are mounting about Trump's actions toward Ukraine.

The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia.

At the same time, an indicted associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has turned over to prosecutors new documents linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani.

The developments applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main source of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information.

What is the president hiding? What is he afraid of?' asked Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

The gravity of these charges is self-evident," he said.

The House of Representatives has accused the president of trying to shake down a foreign leader for personal gain.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new information from Parnas demands an investigation, which she doesn't expect from Trump's attorney general.

"This is an example of all of the president's henchmen, and I hope that the senators do not become part of the president's henchmen.

Before the swearing-in, House Democrats prosecuting the case stood before the Senate and Rep. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee formally read the articles of impeachment.

Seven lawmakers, led by Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, made the solemn walk across the Capitol for a second day.

All eyes were on Schiff as he stood at a lectern in the well of the chamber, a space usually reserved for senators.

House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, he began, reading the nine pages.

The other House prosecutors stood in a row to his side.

Senators said later that when Roberts appeared the solemnity of the occasion took hold. Security was tight at the Capitol.

"I thought this is a historic moment, and you could have heard a pin drop, said Republican John Cornyn of Texas.

And so I think the gravity of what are undertaking I think was sinking in for all of us. Republican House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a far different view of the charges and proceedings.

He opened the chamber decrying Pelosi's decision to hand out "souvenir pens on Wednesday after she signed the resolution to transmit the charges to the Senate.

This final display neatly distilled the House's entire partisan process into one perfect visual, McConnell said.

It was a transparently partisan process from beginning to end.

GOP Sen. James Inhofe was absent, home in Oklahoma for a family medical issue, but plans to take the oath when he returns as the full trial begins next week, his office said.

The Senate will issue a formal summons to the White House to appear, with the president's legal team expected to respond by Saturday. Opening arguments will begin on Tuesday.
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Hello Jammu News at 8:39:00 PM 0


Washington, Aug 3  :  US President Donald Trump invited Iran's foreign minister to the White House last month at the height of tensions between the two countries, a magazine reports.

The invitation, extended by Senator Rand Paul with permission from the president, was turned down for now, The New Yorker reported Friday.

The minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said it was up to Tehran to decide on accepting it.

Neither the White House nor the State Department responded requests for comment on the report, which quoted US and Iranian sources and what the magazine called a well-placed diplomat.

Zarif told the magazine he would not want a White House meeting that yielded just a photo op and a two page statement afterwards, The New Yorker said.

Trump has said publicly several times that he is willing to hold talks with the Iranians even as he lambasts Tehran as a corrupt, incompetent and dangerous regime that is a threat to regional security and US interests.

Last year Trump pulled the US out of an international accord designed to curb Iran's nuclear program, and has reimposed sanctions on Iran -- and even slapped them on Zarif this week -- in an effort to force it to renegotiate the agreement.

Rand had been working for weeks on setting up a meeting with Zarif and on July 15, conferred with him in New York, passing on an invitation from Trump for him to come to the White House, the magazine said.

At the one hour meeting with Rand, Zarif suggested ways to end the nuclear impasse and address Trump's concerns, The New Yorker said.

Tensions soared in the Gulf in June and July amid attacks on oil tankers, Iran's downing of an unmanned US surveillance drone and after the US said it had downed an Iranian drone.

Trump has said the attack against the US drone prompted him to order a military strike in response, only to call it off at the last minute.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:57:00 PM 0


Osaka, Jun 29 :  US President Donald Trump said trade negotiations with China were "back on track" after "excellent" talks Saturday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in which Washington reportedly agreed to hold off on new tariffs.

The crunch talks on the damaging trade war between the world's top two economies came on the sidelines of a meeting of the G20 in Japan's Osaka, with all eyes on whether the pair would agree a truce.

"We had a very good meeting with President Xi of China," Trump said after the talks. "I would say excellent." "We are right back on track," he added without confirming any details of any agreement.

Both sides were expected to issue official formal statements later, but Chinese state media said Washington had committed not to impose any new tariffs on Beijing's exports and that the two sides had agreed to restart trade and economic talks.

The outcome was likely to be seen as a win, with experts cautioning ahead of the meeting that a full agreement was unlikely but a truce that avoided a new tit-for-tat round of tariffs would be positive.

Trump has struck a conciliatory tone since his arrival in Japan for the G20 summit, despite saying China's economy was going "down the tubes" before he set out for Osaka, and appeared keen to reach an agreement.

He said he was ready for a "historic" deal with China as the leaders kicked off their meeting and Xi told him that "dialogue" was better than confrontation.

There were no immediate details about the leaders' discussions, including whether they raised the thorny subject of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.

Washington has banned the company over security concerns and China reportedly wanted the restrictions lifted under the terms of any trade truce.

The first tete-a-tete between the leaders of the world's top two economies since the last G20 in December has cast a long shadow over this year's gathering in Osaka, where differences over climate change have also been laid bare.

Economists say that a lengthy trade war could be crippling for the global economy at a time when headwinds including increased geopolitical tensions and Brexit are blowing hard.

On Friday, the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur sealed a blockbuster trade deal after 20 years of talks, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hailing it as a "strong message" in support of "rules-based trade." 

Trade has proved far from the only contentious issue on the table, with climate change becoming another major sticking point.

A diplomatic source said it had been a "difficult" night, with an American negotiator pushing a "very tough position" and a group including France standing united against watering down the climate language in the final statement.

But an agreement appeared to have been reached there too, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel telling reporters that the final communique would preserve language used at the two past G20 summits.

"We will have a similar text to Argentina. A 19+1 declaration," she said.

The so-called 19+1 formulation reiterates the commitment of all G20 members except the United States to the Paris climate deal, from which Washington plans to withdraw.

Trump has dominated the headlines from the summit, and once again caught observers by surprise by tweeting early Saturday that he was open to meeting North Korea's Kim Jong Un while in South Korea this weekend.

"If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!," he wrote.

Several experts, however, said the focus on Trump and the talks with China struck at the heart of the G20 format, created to craft a united global response to the Lehman Brothers crisis.

"With much of the fate of the global economy and the likely direction of markets hanging on the outcome of this pivotal Trump-Xi meeting, we think things will get worse before they get better," said ING Economics.

And the focus on bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit once again sparked doubts about the future of the gathering, experts said.

"The G20 was created as a forum for cooperation and the question may well be 'have we reached the point where it can no longer serve that purpose'," Thomas Bernes from the Centre for International Governance Innovation told.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:53:00 PM 0


Hong Kong, Jun 24  :   Oil prices extended gains Monday as rising US-Iran tensions fuelled supply concerns, while Asian equity traders moved cautiously ahead of a crunch meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping this week.

Both main crude contracts are up almost 10 per cent since Tehran last week shot down a US "spy drone" for breaching its airspace, ratcheting up fears of a conflict between the old foes.

At the weekend Trump said he would impose fresh sanctions on Iran, following bans of countries buying its oil, while US media reports said Washington secretly launched cyber-attacks against missile control systems and a spy network.

Both sides say they want to avoid war, but tensions have spiralled as a series of incidents, including the drone downing and recent attacks on tankers, raised fears of an unintended slide towards conflict.

The US president said he was ready to reach out to Iran if it renounced nuclear weapons, adding that if leaders did so "I'm going to be their best friend". 

But Iran continues to insist its atomic programme is for civilian purposes.

Brent rose 0.3 per cent Monday and WTI was 0.5 per cent higher.

"The geopolitical escalation in the Middle East is unquestionably a bullish short-term signal for oil markets, as even the thought of 20 per cent of the world oil supply being affected is enough to trigger significant tremors," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets.

"And these tremors are noticeably moving up the Richter scale." 

The stand-off, coupled with a weak dollar as the Federal Reserve flags an interest rate cut, has helped push gold prices to six-year highs above USD 1,400 as dealers look for a safe haven to park their cash.

Still, share markets remain buoyant on hopes Trump and Xi can break an impasse in their trade war when they meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka this week.

Global equities have been rallying since Trump hailed positive telephone talks last week and said the two would have a face-to-face in Japan, fuelling hopes of a possible end to their long-running tariffs battle.

In morning trade Hong Kong was up 0.4 per cent, while Shanghai added 0.2 per cent and Tokyo went into the break 0.1 per cent higher.

Seoul, Wellington and Manila added 0.2 per cent each, though Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta were in the red.

The dollar continues to face pressure from bets the Fed will lower borrowing costs as soon as July as it looks to head off the effects of the trade spat and as the US economy shows signs of softening.

The greenback slipped against its major peers and most high-yielding units, with the Australian dollar and South Korean won 0.4 per cent higher.

The Turkish lira jumped 0.8 per cent after the opposition candidate in Istanbul's controversial mayoral election re-run again beat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party.

Bitcoin continued to rise, breaking the USD 11,000 mark briefly for the first time since March last year, as the cryptocurrency sector gets a huge boost from Facebook's unveiling of its own unit.

The tech titan said it will launch Libra next year, with the backing by a basket of real-world currencies and a consortium of companies including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Uber.

"Libra will now have to deal with a ton of regulatory scrutiny, but that won't matter in the bigger picture for crypto traders of other coins," said OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya.

"Bitcoin volatility is likely to persist, with USD 12,000 and USD 15,000 as the next two critical resistance levels." 

Bitcoin has risen about 20 per cent this month alone but is still well off the record levels near USD 20,000 seen at the end of 2017.                                         [Agencies]
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