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The Latest: Fiance describes night Justine Damond died

The Latest on the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the fatal 2017 shooting of an unarmed woman (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The fiance of an unarmed woman shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2017 sobbed as he described hearing the news that she had died.

Don Damond was the first witness called by prosecutors in the trial of Mohamed Noor, who shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond. She called 911 to report a possible assault behind her home and was shot minutes after she approached Noor's squad car.

Don Damond was in Las Vegas when he got a call from investigators saying Justine was dead. He says he learned from a second call that she had been shot by an officer.

Damond said calling Justine's family in Australia to tell them of her death was the "worst phone call" he's ever had to make. Members of her family also cried in the courtroom Tuesday as Damond testified.

Justine Damond had taken her fiance's last name professionally before their marriage. She died a month before their scheduled wedding.

___

1:10 p.m.

The defense attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer on trial in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman in 2017 says his client drew his gun to protect his partner and himself.

During opening statements Tuesday, Mohamed Noor's attorney, Peter Wold, told jurors the fatal shooting of Justine Ryszcyk Damond was a "perfect storm with tragic consequences."

Wold said that as Noor and his partner were responding to Damond's report of possible rape behind her home, they saw a bicyclist and heard a "bang." He says that in Noor's mind it was a classic setup for what could have been an ambush.

Noor, who is Somali American, is charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia.

Prosecutors charged Noor with second-degree intentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, saying there was no evidence he faced a threat that justified deadly force.

___

11:30 a.m.

A prosecutor says just 1 minute and 19 seconds passed from the time an unarmed woman hung up from a cellphone conversation with her fiance to the time she lay on the ground dying from a gunshot fired by a Minneapolis police officer.

That officer, Mohamed Noor, is on trial in Hennepin County accused of murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia. The 40-year-old was shot after calling police to report a possible rape in the alley behind her home. Damond told her fiance in a phone call that police had arrived to take her report.

Noor and his partner were in a squad car in the alley. During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Patrick Lofton told jurors that Noor fired his gun across his partner through the driver's side open window without saying a word. Lofton says there's no forensic evidence that Damond touched the police vehicle before being shot.

The defense is expected to argue that Noor acted in self-defense.

____

11 a.m.

The judge hearing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman has reversed a ban on what video evidence may be viewed by the media and public.

Judge Kathryn Quaintance ruled Tuesday that body camera video introduced as evidence in the murder trial of Mohamed Noor will be shown to the entire courtroom.

Quaintance had earlier said such video would be shown only to the jury, citing a desire to protect the privacy of the victim, Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

Quaintance said she has to follow the law even if she disagrees with it.

Noor shot Damond when she approached his squad care minutes after calling 911 to report a possible assault in the alley behind her home. The video doesn't capture the shooting but shows efforts to save Damond.

___

Midnight

With a jury in place, opening statements are set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman.

Thirty-three-year-old Mohamed Noor, who is Somali American, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Justine Ruszczyk Damond's death. Damond, a 40-year-old dual Australian-American citizen who was white, was killed in July 2017 after calling 911 to report a possible rape near her home.

It took a week to select a jury. After 75 prospective jurors answered questions about their views on Somalis and police officers, as well as their experiences with firearms and other issues, 12 men and four women were selected Monday to hear the case. In the end, only 12 will deliberate.

Six of the jurors are people of color.

Source: Fox News National

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Smollett Says No Truth He Played Role in Attack

Smollett Says No Truth He Played Role in Attack

Attorneys for Jussie Smollett say there is no truth to reports that the "Empire" actor played a role in an assault on him last month by what he described as two men shouting homophobic and racial slurs.

In a statement late Saturday the lawyers say: "Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying."

His lawyers say that Smollett will continue to cooperate with a Chicago police investigation into the reported attack.

Chicago police earlier Saturday said their investigation of the attack had "shifted" following the interrogation of two men. The brothers from Nigeria were first considered suspects, but then released from police custody Friday without being charged.

Smollett's attorneys say that one of the men was the actor's personal trainer, hired to prepare him physically for a music video.

Source: NewsMax America

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China to cut coal from new green bond standards: sources

FILE PHOTO: Worker walks past coal piles at a coal coking plant in Yuncheng
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past coal piles at a coal coking plant in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, China January 31, 2018. Picture taken January 31, 2018. REUTERS/William Hong/File Photo

March 21, 2019

By David Stanway and Andrew Galbraith

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese regulators are close to releasing new “green bond” standards that would exclude polluting fossil fuel projects from corporate financing channels designed to lift environmental standards, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Beijing has in recent years promoted new green financing methods to help industry pay for its transition to cleaner modes of growth.

But China’s inclusion of “clean coal” in a 2015 central bank list of technologies eligible for green bonds has put the country at odds with global standards, a point of contention for some international investors and many environmental groups.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation say China’s central bank, which regulates financial institution debt issuance and whose 2015 guidelines were adopted by other market regulators, has already revised the eligibility list. One of the people said the list is due to be published later this month. The People’s Bank of China did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

“If confirmed, ending the policy of financing coal with green bonds would be a much-needed step in the right direction,” said Liu Jinyan, senior campaigner with environmental group Greenpeace in Beijing.

“With no new coal projects taking money from the green bonds market, those funds can actually accelerate China’s energy transition and green development,” she said.

Of the $42.8 billion worth of green bonds issued in China last year, only $31.2 billion would have met global criteria, according to a report published at the end of February by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), a non-profit group backing green bond standards.

The share of what CBI calls “internationally aligned” green bonds has been steadily increasing as China’s institutions move to align themselves more with global markets.

The PBOC’s revised criteria, however, would not apply to green “enterprise bonds”, which are regulated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state planner, and are primarily issued by state-owned enterprises and unlisted companies.

In its “green industry” catalog of approved environmental sectors, the NDRC in February still included the production and utilization of “clean coal”, allowing coal companies to issue “green enterprise bonds” to finance the installation of low-emission technology.

The NDRC did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Green bonds have already financed a number of big coal projects in China. Tianjin SDIC Jinneng Electric Power Co Ltd issued 200 million yuan ($29.81 million) in commercial paper on the interbank market in mid-2017 to finance a low-emissions coal-fired power plant.

Coal-to-chemical plants have also received billions of yuan in financing through green bonds, despite criticism from environmental groups.

Industry experts say the two-tiered regulatory framework – one under the PBOC and one under the NDRC – means some coal-related projects could still issue green bonds, although access to the most active green finance markets would be restricted.

“Many of the international investors and financiers have publicly announced plans to reduce their coal portfolio,” said Herry Cho, head of sustainable finance for Asia Pacific at ING.

She said the NDRC catalog is already “largely aligned” with international standards, and even includes some categories, such as equipment related to renewable energy and resource recycling, that are not yet included in global guidelines.

Shengzhe Wang, counsel at Hogan Lovells in Shanghai, who has worked on green bonds in the U.K.-China Green Finance Taskforce, said it was unrealistic to expect the sudden exclusion of coal from all green financing in China.

“For the time being perhaps we have to put up with, make a compromise with clean coal,” she said.

While that compromise may limit foreign involvement in the market, Peter Corne, managing partner at legal firm Dorsey & Whitney in Shanghai said green financing was still required to help clean up China’s coal sector.

“I don’t think it necessarily means there will be more coal projects because of it, because there has already been a moratorium for quite some time,” said Corne, who follows China’s environmental policies.

“Coal’s not going to go away, and it will greatly accelerate our progress towards achieving emission goals if we do clean up the coal sector.”

(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith and David Stanway; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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British Parliament votes in favor of Brexit delay, unclear if EU leaders will accept

U.K. lawmakers in Parliament on Thursday voted in favor of a delay in Britain’s departure from the European Union, just weeks before the U.K. is due to leave -- although it is far from clear if E.U. leaders will agree to such a delay.

Lawmakers voted 412-202 in favor of the motion, which urges Prime Minister’s Theresa May’s government to go to Europe and request an extension past the March 29 deadline.

UK LAWMAKERS REJECT 'NO DEAL' BREXIT, TAKE STEP CLOSER TO DELAYING DEPARTURE

It comes as the culmination of a week of furious votes in Parliament, in which May’s withdrawal agreement was overwhelmingly voted down for the second time on Tuesday, On Wednesday, lawmakers voted to reject a “no deal” Brexit.

Currently Britain is set to leave without a deal, something that May’s government and opposition MPs have warned could be chaotic, but that pro-Brexit MPs have noted would simply revert Britain to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms, and have downplayed the disruption it would cause.

Neither the rejection of “no deal” nor the Thursday vote for an extension are binding, and don’t change the facts on the ground. It is now up to May to go to Europe and see if she can agree to a delay -- a delay she previously said would be short-term and no later than June.

TRUMP BACKS BREXIT BY PROMISING 'LARGE SCALE TRADE DEAL' WITH UK

Calls for such a short delay have been greeted frostily on the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that E.U. leaders would only agree to an extension “if it is justified by new choices by the British.”

On Thursday, European Council President Donald Tusk said that he would call for E.U. leaders to be open to a “long extension” but that was on the condition that Britain “rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.”

E.U. leaders may demand that Britain hold a redo of the 2016 referendum as a condition for a delay. But, while the opposition Labour Party and other smaller parties have backed a second referendum, lawmakers are cautious of being seen to back such a radical move before all other options are exhausted.

An amendment on Thursday that called for a delay so as to allow a second referendum was soundly defeated in Parliament, being voted down 334-85 -- suggesting there isn’t an appetite for a second referendum yet.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, the BBC reported that May will make a third attempt next week to get her withdrawal deal through Parliament, warning Brexiteers that that will be the only way to prevent a lengthy Brexit delay.

In Washington, President Trump appeared to try and tempt lawmakers to get on with it by renewing his promise for a "large scale trade deal" between the U.S. and the U.K.

Later on Thursday, in the Oval Office alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, Trump said he was "surprised at how badly it's all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation" and said that May didn't listen to his advice on how to negotiate with the E.U. He also said that a second referendum, that some pro-E.U. politicians are calling for in the U.K., would be "unfair."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

"I hate to see everything being ripped apart right now, I don't think another vote would be possible because it would be very unfair to the people that won that say: 'What do you mean you're going to take another vote?'" he said. "So that would be tough."

Source: Fox News World

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Could Thailand’s populists win again despite army obstacles?

Supporters of Pheu Thai Party attend an election campaign in Ubon Ratchathani Province
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Pheu Thai Party attend an election campaign in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Februray 18, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

March 20, 2019

By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Nearly five years after Thailand’s 2014 military coup, the populist movement that the army has overthrown twice in a decade is contesting an election on Sunday that its leaders say is rigged against it.

Yet, the Pheu Thai party linked to ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is hoping it can beat the system, just as the former telecommunication tycoon’s loyalists have won every general election since 2001.

This time, Pheu Thai has shifted strategy by dividing its forces to capture new votes and to seek a “democratic front” with other parties to overcome junta-written electoral rules that give a huge advantage to the party seeking to retain junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister.

Sunday’s election has 81 parties competing, but the race has shaped up as one between Pheu Thai and “democracy front” allies versus the pro-army Palang Pracharat party that nominated Prayuth as prime minister.

Polls indicate that Pheu Thai will again be the top vote-winner, and it hopes with its allies to make up the largest bloc in the 500-seat House of Representatives.

But that may not matter, because the new constitution written by the junta allows parliament’s upper house, the 250-seat Senate, to vote with the lower house to choose the prime minister – and the Senate is entirely appointment by the junta.

That means pro-junta parties need to win only 126 lower house seats on Sunday to choose the next government, while Pheu Thai and allies, who can’t count on any support in the Senate, need 376 – three-quarters of the total up for grabs.

Despite the disadvantages, Sudarat Keyuraphan, Pheu Thai’s main prime ministerial candidate, said a democratic front could keep the military from controlling the next government.

“I still believe in the heart of the people and we have seen election upsets in many places around the world,” Sudarat told Reuters in an interview.

“Now, they have created a new structure that enables them to hold on to power in a semi-democratic structure,” she said of the military. “So we have to tell people about this and to put an end to this once and for all.”

‘GET RID OF THAKSIN’

However, the complex rules governing the election make it all but impossible for pro-Thaksin parties to form a government on their own as they have in previous elections.

Since he burst onto the political scene in 2001, Thaksin has dominated Thai politics, inspiring devotion among his mostly rural supporters for his pro-poor policies and revulsion from mostly middle-class and establishment opponents who decry him as a corrupt demagogue.

The rivalry has brought intermittent violent protests over almost 15 years. Twice, the military has stepped in, the first time in 2006 to oust Thaksin after he won a second term and again in 2014 to topple a government that had been led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Thaksin now lives in self-imposed exile to escape a 2008 corruption sentence. He is officially banned from politics but has been hosting a weekly podcast since January discussing global affairs and politics.

His son, Panthongtae Shinawatra, 38, has made cameo appearances at Pheu Thai rallies, bringing loud cheers in party strongholds in the north and northeast.

Worry that a pro-Thaksin party might yet again win the election was one reason why the post-coup constitution made changes giving the junta a strong say in who will be prime minister, said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the faculty of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University.

“The establishment have had a strong determination to get rid of Thaksin once and for all,” Titipol told Reuters.

PRO-DEMOCRACY FRONT

While the rewritten electoral rules give junta leader Prayuth’s party an advantage in choosing the next government, they are by no means a guarantee.

In recent weeks, talk of a “democracy front” has gained ground, with speculation different parties in the House of Representatives might muster the 376 votes needed to choose the prime minister.

That strategy took a hit when Thai Raksa Chart, a key pro-Thaksin ally of Pheu Thai, was disqualified from the election this month.

The constitutional court ruled that the party had broken the electoral law by nominating the sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as its prime ministerial candidate, crossing the traditional boundary between monarchy and politics.

Still, Pheu Thai has other allies – including Pheu Chart party and Pheu Tham – while politicians from the dissolved Thai Raksa Chart campaign for the democratic front.

Other parties like the youth-oriented Future Forward Party, while not seen as “pro-Thaksin”, could join forces to keep the military out of politics.

The leader of another main party, the Democrats, has also said he won’t support keeping junta leader Prayuth as prime minister, though it is unclear if the staunchly anti-Thaksin Democrats would join any front with Thaksin loyalists.

Even if they unite, it’s unclear whether anti-junta parties can muster enough votes, but Pheu Thai’s Sudarat said Prayuth’s declaration as a prime ministerial candidate has had a galvanizing effect.

“For 10 years the military has been acting as a referee,” she said.

“But now they have reveal themselves and have become a player so this could lead to a new end game … now it is up to the people.”

(Editing by Kay Johnson, Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

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Terminally ill Wisconsin girl who loves dogs visited by nearly 40 K-9 officers

A young Wisconsin girl with an inoperable brain tumor and a love of dogs experienced quite the day when nearly 40 K-9 officers visited her at home.

In January, 7-year-old Emma Mertens was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a rare brain tumor, as Fox 6 reported. Soon after her diagnosis, Mertens asked people for photos of their dogs.

During the time since, Mertens, of Hartland, roughly 25 miles west of Milwaukee, has received countless letters and photos from friends and supporters trying to cheer her up.

And on Saturday, she received an even bigger act of kindness when K-9 officers with the police force in Hartford — north of Hartland — stopped by her house.

"Today, just a few of us (roughly 40) stopped by to see Emma," the department wrote in a Facebook post. "She had no idea we were coming so she was VERY excited. What an amazing and strong little girl. It was such a great morning."

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Photos of the happy day show the officers and the K-9s lined up to see Mertens. Her family wrote online that," There are no words....Pure Joy!" in response to the 7-year-old's special visit.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to organize and participate in this. Emma is still all smiles! Over 35 different departments and many more K9s and officers," her family wrote.

Source: Fox News National

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White House Probes Acosta Role in Sex Abuse Plea Deal

The White House says it's "looking into" Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's handling of a secret plea deal with a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls

A federal judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors in Florida violated the rights of victims by reaching the non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta was the Miami U.S. attorney who oversaw the arrangement.

President Donald Trump's spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, on Friday called it a "complicated case" that the White House was "looking into."

Asked if Trump still had confidence in Acosta, Sanders said: "Again, we're looking into the matter. I'm not aware of any changes."

Acosta has called the deal appropriate.

Source: NewsMax America

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani encouraged newly-elected lawmakers to participate in the peace process with the Taliban as he opened on Friday the first session of parliament since a controversial election.

Ghani has invited thousands of politicians, religious scholars and rights activists to an assembly known as a loya jirga next week to discuss ways to end the 17-year war.

Several opposition leaders have said they will boycott the four-day assembly in Kabul, saying it was pulled together without their input and is being used by Ghani as he seeks a second term in a September presidential election.

“We have presented the peace plan on a regular basis and we are committed to it,” Ghani said in the first session since parliamentary elections marred by technical problems, militant attacks and accusations of voting fraud last year.

“Based on this plan, there will be no peace deal and negotiation that does not have the green card of the parliament,” he added.

Officials from the United States and the Taliban have held several rounds of talks to end the Afghan war.

U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has reported some progress toward an accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal and on how the Taliban would prevent extremists from using Afghanistan to launch attacks as al Qaeda did on Sept. 11, 2001.

The insurgents have so far rejected U.S. demands for a ceasefire and talks on the country’s political future that would include Afghan government officials.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old institution used to build consensus among competing tribes, factions and ethnic groups, is an attempt by Ghani to influence the peace talks and cement his position for a second term, Afghan politicians and Western diplomats say.

Amid growing political divisions in Kabul, opposition politicians have demanded that Ghani step down when his mandate ends next month, and give way to an interim government to oversee peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani has ruled that out.

The country’s top court said last week Ghani can stay in office until the presidential election in September.

(Reporting by Hameed Farzad, Rupam Jain, Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while slamming former President Barack Obama’s administration for being slow to take action on Russian interference in U.S. elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey for telling Congress the agency was investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our nation is safer, elections are more secure, and citizens are better informed about covert foreign influence schemes,” Rosenstein said in a speech to the Armenian Bar Association, marking his first public remarks after the Mueller report was released, reports CBS News.

He also pointed out that the investigation revealed a pattern of computer hacking and the use of social media to undermine elections as “only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration also made “critical decisions,” including choosing not to publicize the full story about Russian hackers and social media trolling, “and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America,” said Rosenstein.

He noted that the Mueller probe began after Comey disclosed during a hearing before Congress that President Donald Trump “pressured him to close the investigation and the president denied that the conversation occurred.”

Rosenstein said two years ago, when he was confirmed, he was told by a Republican senator that he would be in charge of the probe and that he’d report the results to the American people.

However, he said he didn’t promise to do that, because it is “not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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