Trump calls for 'travel ban' amid London terror attacks

Members of the emergency services attend to persons injured in an apparent terror attack on London Bridge in central London on June 3, 2017.
Armed police fired shots after reports of stabbings and a van hitting pedestrians on London Bridge on

As authorities in Britain scrambled to respond to the knife and truck attacks in the heart of London Saturday night, President Trump’s immediate response was to publicly demand the courts reinstate his executive order restricting travel from six largely Muslim nations. “We need to be smart, vigilant and tough,” tweeted Trump at about 7 p.m. Eastern Time — before news outlets had been able to confirm any significant details about the incident. “We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!”

The Justice Department last week asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the president’s executive order, appealing a lower court’s ruling that upheld a nationwide block of it.

Throughout the legal setbacks the Trump administration has faced on the issue is a consistent theme: judges have pointed to the words of both the president and his advisors in order to rule that the policy has more to do with religious animus toward Muslims than protecting national security.

Central to the administration’s case has been the claim that the order is not a ban but rather a temporary change of vetting rules designed to protect national security. Press secretary Sean Spicer neatly summed up their case in January, shortly after the chaotic rollout of the original policy. “It’s not a Muslim ban. It’s not a

Residents shield Christians in bold exodus from Philippines city

Soldiers onboard military trucks ride along the main street as government troops continue their assault on insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - More than 160 civilians walked out of the besieged Philippines city of Marawi just after dawn on Saturday, deceiving Islamist fighters they encountered by hiding the identity of the many Christians among them.

The audacious exodus came after text message warnings that a major assault by Philippines aircraft and ground troops was imminent in the center of the southern city, where some 250 militants and more than 2,000 civilians remain trapped.

"We saved ourselves," said Norodin Alonto Lucman, a well-known former politician and traditional clan leader who sheltered 71 people, including more than 50 Christians, in his home during the battle that erupted on May 23 in the town of more than 200,000 on the southern island of Mindanao.

"There's this plan to bomb the whole city if ISIS don't agree to the demands of the government," he said,

Deadly Texas Shootout: Suspect Dead, Three Officers Injured

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Police in Portland, Oregon, arrested a homeless man on Friday morning for stealing the wedding ring and backpack of Ricky Best, one of two men fatally stabbed to death last week on a commuter train while defending two women.

George Tschaggeny, 51, was arrested at a homeless encampment under an overpass after a tip from an employee of a Domino's Pizza restaurant in the area, Portland Police Bureau officials said at a Friday press conference.

Police had released surveillance footage on Thursday of a man carrying Best's backpack leaving the Portland MAX commuter train shortly after the stabbings.

Tschaggeny was found wearing Best's ring, which he apparently had removed from Best's finger after the stabbing, said police spokesman Pete Simpson.

Police also recovered the backpack but Best's wallet was missing, Simpson said, adding that his family had

New Law Compels Zimbabwe Banks To Accept Cattles, Goat And Sheep As Collateral.

Commercial banks in Zimbabwe will soon be compelled to accept livestock such as cattle, goats and sheep as collateral for cash loans to informal businesses under a new law presented to parliament Tuesday.

Under the Movable Property Security Interests Bill tabled for debate by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa in the House of Assembly, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will compile and administer a collateral-security register in which small-business operators and individuals can

Syrians protest U.S. airstrikes and more: April 11 in photos

Hundreds of Syrian students gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in Damascus to protest last week’s American missile strike on a government air base; Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, spews

Britain urges Putin to end support for 'toxic' Assad

Children receive treatment in the town of Maaret al-Noman, following a suspected chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhun, a nearby rebel-held town in Syria's north-western Idlib province, on April 4, 2017

London (AFP) - Russia should end its support for "toxic" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Monday ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy.

"It's time for (Russian President) Vladimir Putin to face the truth about the tyrant he is propping up," Johnson said, according to a foreign ministry spokeswoman.

"We need to make it clear to Putin that the time to back Assad has gone," he said, warning that Putin was "damaging Russia" by supporting Assad.

"He must understand that Assad is now toxic in every sense. He is poisoning the innocent people of Syria with weapons that were banned 100 years ago -- and he is poisoning the reputation of Russia," he said.

Johnson on Saturday cancelled a scheduled visit to Moscow over its support for the Syrian regime.

The move came after a suspected chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Seikhun last week in which at least 87 people were killed.

Trump declares that North Korea is ‘looking for trouble’ as tensions rise

President Trump suggested on Tuesday that he could sweeten the terms of a trade agreement with China if Beijing assists in solving the North Korea “problem” — but that the United States is prepared to move forward in the western Pacific without Chinese help.

“I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” Trump tweeted early Tuesday, three days after hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“North Korea is looking for trouble,” Trump wrote. “If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”

Over the weekend, Trump deployed a U.S. Navy strike group to the Korean Peninsula as “a show of

Tillerson: Syria strike a message to others, including North Korea

Tillerson

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military strikes against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons are a warning to other nations, including North Korea, that "a response is likely" if they pose a danger, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday.

As a U.S. Navy strike group headed toward the Korean Peninsula, Tillerson said China agrees that action is necessary to address North Korea's nuclear arsenal, following last week's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Asked if Friday's strikes against Syria were a message to North Korea, Tillerson told ABC's This Week: "The message that any nation can take is, 'If you violate international norms, if you violate international agreements, if you fail to live up to commitments, if you become a threat to others, at some point a response