Dog Protect Owner Compilation 2017

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You Official Video 2017

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You [Official Video] 2017

J Balvin & Pitull ft. Camila Capello - Hey Ma (English Version)

J Balvin & Pitfall ft. Camila Capello - Hey Ma (English Version)

Trump is letting China and Mexico off the hook

Donald Trump the president looks less and less like Donald Trump the candidate.

While campaigning last year, Trump promised, among other things, to label China a currency manipulator and rework or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement within his first 100 days. Neither is happening.
Trump recently told the Wall Street Journal that he won’t officially accuse China of currency manipulation, at least not any time soon. He hasn’t done anything about NAFTA, except to say “pleasant surprises” are coming. He has continued to threaten tariffs on certain imports from the two countries, but he hasn’t backed that with legislative or policy proposals. For all his bluster, Trump seems to be letting China and Mexico off the hook.
The two countries served as Trump’s most convenient bogeymen during the campaign, when he repeatedly claimed that low-paid workers from Mexico and China had taken millions of jobs that once belonged to Americans. Among Trump’s more memorable accusations:
“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country.”
Mexico is “killing us on trade.”
“Other countries are eating our lunch.”

Trump used the threat of trade wars to great effect during the campaign, convincing millions of American workers that a tougher stance on trade would make them better off. He now seems to be changing his mind, which is not surprising given that hundreds of economists and business leaders have warned that punitive tariffs and other protectionist measures would do more economic harm than good.

It might be tempting to call Trump a flip-flopper, but it’s also worth noting that his views on key economic issues seem to be maturing as he shifts from campaigning to governing. It has certainly happened to other newly elected presidents. Many campaign promises are never fulfilled, which is perhaps one reason Americans have soured on electoral politics.

Many Trump campaign promises would also be reckless if fulfilled. Labeling China a currency manipulator would open the door for US trade restrictions on China, and China would probably retaliate with similar sanctions on the United States. This would spook markets, probably sending stocks down. If such measures actually went into effect, prices of some imports would rise, with many ordinary families paying more. This is not what to do if you want to boost economic growth, a key Trump goal.
Trump has also threatened companies that build products in Mexico with sizeable “border tariffs” if they could just as easily make such goods in the United States. He has tangled on that issue with automakers such as Ford and General Motors, which both build cars in Mexico that are for sale in America. Those flare-ups have been doused by automaker promises to hire more Americans and invest more in America—no border taxes needed.

Trump meets regularly with CEOs and other top business minds, and he undoubtedly gets an earful about the risks of protectionism. He appears to be listening. Trump could still seek trade concessions from China and Mexico as various agencies finalize reports and investigations into America’s trade relationships. Perhaps most likely are targeted, modest requests on trade from key partners. But the odds of outright trade wars seem to be dropping. That is good for businesses and might even benefit their workers at some point.

Sean Spicer Throws In the Towel

When the president of the United States makes several major shifts on policy in the course of the week, it’s bound to raise a series of questions. Luckily, there’s someone whose job is to answer those questions, giving the press information about the president’s thinking and direction: the White House press secretary.

Related Story

The Education of Donald J. Trump

At least in theory. Sean Spicer seemed less than enthused on Thursday about trying to explain why Donald Trump shifted his view on issues ranging from the Export-Import Bank to interest rates to Chinese currency manipulation in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Trump also announced that NATO, which he had said was obsolete, is no longer obsolete. During Thursday’s White House briefing, reporters wanted to know what had happened, and what this meant for other Trump positions—were they equally malleable?

“I think, respectfully, I think you can look at what you’re referring to as a shift in a lot of ways, and by that I mean I saw a couple instances with respect to NATO being one of those shifts, and if you look at what’s happened, it’s those entities or individuals in some cases or issues evolving toward the president’s position,” he said.

On NATO, Spicer noted that Trump had demanded that the alliance focus more on terror and that other members increase their defense spending. Both those things are seeing movement, Spicer said. This is fair as far as it goes: The changes may not be due to Trump, but there has been movement.

But it doesn’t explain the economic-policy shifts, and on those Spicer was rather more vague. Why had the president decided the Ex-Im Bank wasn’t such a bad idea?

“Let me get back to you on the Ex-Im bank. It’s a very complex issue and I would like to get back.”

Why does Trump no longer believe China is devaluing its currency, even though he has said so as recently as February?

“It’s a very, very complex issue and I’m gonna leave it to the president to specifically answer it,” Spicer offered.

There’s an element of comedy to this: Spicer’s job is to explain the president’s positions to the press and the public. And sure, the press secretary can’t be expected to be an expert in every topic. Except that Spicer knows a thing or two about trade policy, having served as a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the George W. Bush administration

Spicer’s had a rough week. On Tuesday, he stumbled into an unfortunate and ill-conceived comparison between Bashar al-Assad and Adolf Hitler, only digging himself deeper before realizing his error and trying to reverse it. It’s also hard to defend Trump when he changes his positions so abruptly, especially while admitting in some cases that he simply did not understand the question at hand. Moreover, Spicer has reason to be nervous. Trump is believed to watch press briefings closely. Spicer could be concerned about wedding himself too closely to any one position, since Trump could easily just change his mind back. He has on occasion contradicted Spicer’s statements in the briefing room.

Still, the correct answer is surely to defend whatever whatever the president says his policy is right now. If even his own spokesman can’t understand and explain that, how is anyone else to do so?

Selena Gomez Kill Em With Kindness Latest 2017

Dhera Dheere sa Meri zindagi man ana

Defense Secretary Mattis won't say what a US aircraft carrier is up to near North Korea

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis explained Tuesday the decision to strike Sharyat air base in Syria with 57 cruise missiles, and noticeably seemed to avoid a looming nuclear threat — North Korea. 

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and strike group have been deployed to the Korean peninsula in response to North Korea's nuclear threats, which prompted the Kim regime to warn the US of potential nuclear strikes should they be provoked.
But according to Mattis, there's nothing to make of the carrier strike group redirecting itself to the region.
"She's stationed there in the western Pacific for a reason. She operates freely up and down the Pacific," said Mattis of the Vinson, implying the imposing carrier would send a message to North Korea and other actors in the region.
However, when pressed on what exactly that reason might be, Mattis seemed to backtrack saying "there's not a specific reason or demand signal," that brought the Vinson to the Korean peninsula.

North Korea's Kim regime, which US presidents have tried for decades to engage with diplomatically, has recently stepped into a visible and distressing stage of its nuclear and ballistic missile program that requires testing.

Experts have told Business Insider that once North Korea perfects an intercontinental ballistic missile, it reaches a "point of no return" whereby the US no longer has any military credibility against the Kim regime and may be forced to acknowledge it as a national power. 

The US has repeatedly and openly mulled military action against the Kim regime, but Joel Wit, co-founder of 38 North, a website that brings together experts on North Korea, told Business Insider that "it's almost universal that the downsides of military strikes are so great that it's hard to see them taking place."

North Korea's nuclear and conventional forces are too spread out to wipe out all at once. Additionally, their artillery installations and missile launchers could likely level Seoul, South Korea's capital city and home to 10 million people.

Trump reiterated in a tweet on Tuesday that "North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them!" also adding that he told Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting on Thursday "a trade deal with the US will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!"

However, the US can only threaten North Korea with force or cut off business ties. North Korea's main backer for years has been China, which carries out 85% of North Korea's external trade and provides a similar percentage of its energy imports.

China could potentially curb North Korea's nuclear program through a limited deployment of military forces or by halting trade with the Hermit Kingdom. But China has a strong interest in preserving the North Korean state, as it acts as a buffer between the US's 25,000 permanently stationed troops in South Korea.

A Chinese envoy of diplomats arrived in South Korea on Monday and reportedly reached an agreement on how to handle North Korea's nuclear ambitions. It remains to be seen if the South Korean-Chinese action will be good enough for the Trump administration. 

Is Bannon in peril? Trump comments worry his populist base

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump has declared: "I am my own strategist." That would seem to bode poorly for his actual strategist, Steve Bannon.

And Trump now appears to be publicly distancing himself.
In an interview with The New York Post, the president said "I like Steve" and called his adviser "a good guy" — but one who wasn't really all that involved with his winning election campaign. He said his warring senior officials, including Bannon, must "straighten it out or I will." In a second interview with The Wall Street Journal, he dismissively called Bannon "a guy who works for me."
The unusual public, lukewarm support from the boss has Bannon's friends and advisers worried he will soon be out of a job. But shedding Bannon would be no simple staff shake-up. More than any other member of Trump's orbit, the former media executive and radio host, known as a bare-knuckle political fighter, has a following all his own. He is viewed by many in the conservative core as the ideological backbone in a White House run by a president who boasts of his flexibility.
"I think it's important to recognize the value of the base. It's important to recognize the base sees their advocate in Steve Bannon," said Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser who has known the president for decades.
Bannon is not the only Trump official to find himself in the hot seat in a White House divided. Press Secretary Sean Spicer has also come under fire for comments he made about the Holocaust on Tuesday. Spicer has apologized repeatedly, including on Wednesday, and the White House hopes that controversy will pass.
As for Bannon, before joining the campaign last summer as its chief executive officer, he was informally advising Trump. And as leader of the conservative Breitbart News he spent the better part of a year connecting Trump with the populist, nationalist voters who would propel him to victory over 16 Republican opponents and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In more than half a dozen interviews during the campaign with Bannon on Breitbart's radio show, Trump laid out his vision for leading the country, with Bannon sometimes playing the role of coach.
Bannon, more than any other White House aide, speaks the language of Trump's populist base. He spoke in February of "our sovereignty" as a country and about the new administration's aim for "deconstruction of the administrative state." He also helped write many of Trump's hardest-line speeches.
"It would be a terrible signal if Trump were to either force Bannon out or let him go because he is the face of the national populism that inspired a lot of voter to vote for Trump," said Ned Ryun, founder of the conservative group American Majority and a longtime friend of Bannon's.
"And what makes it even worse right now," Ryun added, "is that people have deep concerns about liberal New York Democrats associated with Goldman Sachs coming in and making strong moves at the White House."
That view cuts to the core of why Bannon might be on the outs at the White House.
He's feuded with Trump's son-in-law-turned-senior-adviser, Jared Kushner, and with economic chief Gary Cohn. Both are New Yorkers who have voted for Democrats. Cohn, the former No. 2 at Goldman Sachs, and fellow Goldman executive Dina Powell, one of Trump's top national security advisers, have been gaining favor with the president.
Last week, Trump removed Bannon from the National Security Council, while Powell appears to be ascendant.
The president's irritation with Bannon could have roots in the adviser's high profile in the early days of the administration. Democrats waged a campaign to brand him as "President Bannon." He appeared on Time magazine's cover and was portrayed on "Saturday Night Live" as the Grim Reaper pulling the president's strings.
Recently, the president has undercut Bannon in front of other senior staffers, including questioning the need for his presence in certain White House meetings.
Bannon is seen as increasingly isolated within the White House, particularly after the health care debacle. His hard-line sales pitch to the Freedom Caucus lawmakers — he told the Republicans that the White House-based legislation was not up for debate — was panned inside the West Wing as a major misstep that cost Trump votes. The original travel ban, a Bannon effort, is mired in the courts, and Trump appears to be backing away from some of the economic policies that Bannon championed.
And Bannon's creation of an in-house think tank known as the Strategic Initiatives group has been marginalized. Some staff members initially hired for that project are now part of the Kushner-led Office of American Innovation.
It's Bannon's rift with Kushner that seems to have troubled the president the most.
The 36-year-old and 63-year-old have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks.
Trump has stressed loyalty in his business and political careers and has shown a reluctance to dismiss top aides, even under public pressure. But he also has drawn a line in the past when it comes to his kids.
It's a lesson learned by Trump's first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who was pushed out of his role after clashing with the president's children about the direction of the campaign.
But Bannon's supporters say Kushner's importance doesn't erase Bannon's. Caputo said that Bannon must "fix things" in White House relationships but dismissed as "hype" the belief that he is about to lose his job.
Says Ryun: "Kushner is family. He's not going anywhere," But he adds, "Bannon should not go anywhere either because of what he represents to the voter."

In the end, whoever is advising in the White House, "this will be a Trump presidency," says former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal Trump adviser.

"Trump has been Trump for a long time. And he will continue to be Trump."

Exclusive: North Korean ships head home after China orders coal returned

By John Ruwitch and Meng Meng

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A fleet of North Korean cargo ships is heading home to the port of Nampo, the majority of it fully laden, after China ordered its trading companies to return coal from the isolated country, shipping data shows.
Map: http://reut.rs/2olrbc0

Following repeated missile tests that drew international criticism, China banned all imports of North Korean coal on Feb. 26, cutting off the country's most important export product.

To curb coal traffic between the two countries, China's customs department issued an official order on April 7 telling trading companies to return their North Korean coal cargoes, said three trading sources with direct knowledge of the order.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were discussing North Korea at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 7.
Shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon, a financial information and analytics platform, shows a dozen cargo ships on their way to North Korea's main west coast port of Nampo, almost all carrying cargoes from China.
Chinese authorities did not respond to requests for official comment.

The Trump administration has been pressuring China to do more to rein in North Korea, which sends the vast majority of its exports to its giant neighbor across the Yellow Sea.

But U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said last week's U.S. military strike against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons was a warning to other countries, including North Korea, that "a response is likely" if they pose a danger.
As a U.S. Navy strike group headed to the region in a show of force, China and South Korea agreed on Monday to slap tougher sanctions on North Korea if it carries out nuclear or long-range missile tests, a senior official in Seoul said.
North Korea marks several major anniversaries this month and often marks the occasions with major tests of military hardware.
TWO MILLION TONNES
A source at Dandong Chengtai, one of China's biggest buyers of North Korean coal, said the company had 600,000 tonnes of North Korean coal sitting at various ports, and a total of 2 million tonnes was stranded at Chinese ports.
Eikon data shows that most of these ships have recently left Chinese coal ports, including Weihai and Peng Lai, returning to North Korea full or mostly filled with cargo.
Last month, Reuters reported that Malaysia briefly prevented a North Korean ship carrying coal from China from entering its port in Penang because of a suspected breach in sanctions. The ship was eventually allowed to unload its 6,300 metric tonnes of anthracite coal.

North Korea is a significant supplier of coal to China, especially of the type used for steel making, known as coking coal.
To make up for the shortfall from North Korea, China has ramped up imports from the United States in an unexpected boon for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has declared he wants to revive his country's struggling coal sector.
Eikon data shows no U.S. coking coal was exported to China between late 2014 and 2016, but shipments soared to over 400,000 tonnes by late February.

This trend was exacerbated after cyclone Debbie knocked out supplies from the world's top coking coal region in Australia's state of Queensland, forcing Chinese steel makers to buy even more U.S. cargoes.

The other big coking coal supplier that has ramped up exports to China since the ban on North Korean cargoes is Russia.

How Have Geopolitics Take Center Stage?

The missile strikes were the aftermath of the Syrian military’s poison gas attack to kill dozens of civilians. However, the air strike in Syria has fallen upon relations between Moscow and Washington as Russia is an ally of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has already criticized the U.S. air strike against Syria as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law." So, now the risk of a U.S.-Russia clash has increased. Not only Russia, Iran – another supporter of Syria government – boosted military support for the Assad regime.

Now comes North Korea, which has been launching ballistic missiles lately to show its antagonism over annual military drills between U.S. and South Korea. North Korea views these drills as trials before invasion.

North Korea’s recent missile launches on test purpose triggered concerns over safety in peripheral countries. Washington now looks extremely proactive in tackling North Korea’s nuclear threat by launching a navy strike group.

Other Economic Tensions

Meanwhile, job data for the month of March came in weaker than expected. U.S. employers added 98,000 new jobs in March, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 in February and market expectations of 180,000. The figure marked the lowest job gains in 10 months.
The Fed has also hinted at deleveraging the balance sheet this year. So, a significant amount of uncertainty is brewing up in the market. Overvaluation concerns also played a role in flaring up volatility(read: 5 Alternative ETFs to Avoid 'Cognitive Dissonance' in Market).
Risk quotient in the market elevated with the CBOE Volatility Index trading at about 13 compared with 11 at the start of March. iPath S&P 500 VIX ST Futures ETN VXX was up about 7.3% in the last two days (as on April 10, 2017).

These worries may keep the stock market volatile, and investors may find some protection in alternative ETFs. Among several alternative products, 'macro' hedge funds are likely to be on investors ’radar.
Inside Macro Hedge Fund’s Historical Performance
Macro funds look to follow macroeconomic trends using currencies, bonds, rates and stock futures. These products beat the broader industry during the financial crisis and amassed tens of billions of dollars between 2010 and 2012. But these shed most of those assets between 2013 and 2014 and some in 2016. However, these products got their mojo back to some extent in recent sessions.
Below we highlight four hedge fund ETFs that beat the broader market ETFs like SPY, DIA and QQQ in the last five days (as of April 10, 2017)
Cambria Value and Momentum ETF VAMO
This is an active ETF which uses a quantitative approach to actively manage a portfolio of U.S. equities (read: Are Hedge Fund ETFs Good Bets for Only Uncertain Times?).
SPDR SSGA Multi-Asset Real Return ETF RLY
The ETF looks to achieve real return consisting of capital appreciation & current income. The fund seeks to track the performance of a market index; exchange traded commodity trusts & ETNs (read: 5 Alternative ETFs to Beat Market Slump).
PowerShares DWA Tactical Multi-Asset Income Portfolio DWIN
It is a smart beta ETF tracking the Dorsey Wright Multi-Asset Income Index. It follows a fund-of-funds approach. It rotates within seven different income-producing market segments based on relative strength and current yield criteria.
Merger ETF MRGR
The underlying index of the fund provides exposure to a global merger arbitrage strategy, which seeks to reflect the spread between the price at which the stock of a company trades after the proposed acquisition of such a target is announced and the value that the acquiring company has proposed to pay for the stock of the target. The index takes long positions in target securities.

Investors should note that “cross-border M&A had its strongest start since 2007, driving first-quarter global volumes up 7%.” This corporate behavior puts this merger fund in focus (read: 5 Hot ETFs to Rescue if Trump Trade Wavers).

4 Hedge Fund ETFs to Counter Geopolitics & Fed Fears

The broader market has been a little off-mood lately. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq have lost their post-election (Donald Trump’s win) enthusiasm.  Along with overvaluation concerns, doubts over the materialization of the Trump administration’s promised deregulation and tax cut proposals are being seen as the key culprits.

Developments in the oil patch are also unpredictable with surging U.S. output. If this was not enough, U.S. military strike on a Syrian airbase, deployment of a strike group by the U.S. navy to Korean Peninsula, and a series of terrorist attacks in Europe flared up geopolitical concerns

China's Xi urges resolution of North Korea tensions in Trump call

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese leader Xi Jinping has urged Donald Trump to peacefully resolve tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programme, as the US president touted the power of a naval "armada" steaming towards the Korean peninsula.

China's foreign ministry said Wednesday the two leaders had spoken by phone, days after Trump sent the aircraft carrier-led strike group to the region in a show of force ahead of a possible nuclear test.

The deployment was followed by a renewed warning that Washington was ready to take on North Korea alone if Beijing declined to help rein in its maverick neighbour's nuclear ambitions.
Pyongyang has issued a defiant response, saying it was ready to fight "any mode of war" chosen by the United States and even threatening a nuclear strike against US targets.
The sabre-rattling has unnerved China, which has made clear its frustration with Pyongyang’s stubbornness but whose priority remains preventing any military flare-up that could bring chaos and instability to its doorstep.
In the call, Xi stressed that China "advocates resolving the issue through peaceful means," the foreign ministry said.
On Tuesday, the US president tweeted that "North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A."
A barrage of recent North Korean missile tests has stoked US fears that Pyongyang may soon develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.
There is speculation that the country could be preparing a missile launch, or even another nuclear test, to mark the 105th birthday anniversary of its founder Kim Il-Sung on Saturday.
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump warned: "We are sending an armada. Very powerful."
"We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier."
The flotilla includes the Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier USS Carl Vinson, a carrier air wing, two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser.
"This goes to prove that the US reckless moves for invading the DPRK have reached a serious phase," a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in response.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Wednesday it was "irresponsible and even dangerous to take any actions that may escalate the tension".
"All relevant parties should exercise restraint and keep calm, easing tensions instead of provoking each other and adding fuel to the fire," he said at a regular press briefing.

Pyongyang has so far staged five nuclear tests, two of them last year, and analysis of satellite imagery suggests it could be preparing for a sixth.
China's Global Times newspaper, which sometimes reflects the thinking of the country's leadership, said a new test would be a "slap in the face of the US government" and that Beijing would not "remain indifferent".
"Presumably Beijing will react strongly to Pyongyang's new nuclear actions," it said, adding there was increasing popular support for "severe restrictive measures that have never been seen before".
The language suggested China -- the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline -- could restrict oil imports to the country, after already announcing a suspension of all coal imports until the end of the year.
- 'Outstanding' relationship -
The call between the leaders of the world's largest economies followed their first face-to-face meeting late last week.
During the call, Xi told Trump that China remains "willing to maintain communication and coordination with the American side on the issue of the peninsula," according to the foreign ministry.
Trump, it added, said it was vital for the two heads of state to maintain close ties.
The high-profile summit in Florida was overshadowed by a US missile strike on Syria that was also interpreted as a warning to North Korea.
Xi told Trump on the call that the Syria issue "must continue to move towards a political solution", and that "any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable".
He said their summit produced "significant results", and that both sides would work together to ensure Trump visited China later this year.
Trump's election campaign was marked with acerbic denouncements of the Asian giant's "rape" of the US economy and his vow to punish Beijing with punitive tariffs.

But he dropped his anti-China bombast in Florida, afterwards hailing an "outstanding" relationship with his Chinese counterpart. 

Tensions grow on Korean peninsula ahead of 'big and important event'

 SEOUL/PYONGYANG (Reuters) - South Korea said on Thursday it believed it would be consulted by the United States before any possible pre-emptive U.S. strike against Pyongyang, where foreign journalists gathered for "a big and important event".

With a U.S. aircraft carrier group steaming to the area, tensions on the Korean peninsula grew this week amid concern that the reclusive North could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
China, North Korea's sole major ally and benefactor, has called for a peaceful resolution after a sharp rise in rhetoric between the United States and Pyongyang.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has put North Korea "clearly on notice" that he would not tolerate provocative actions by the North, U.S. officials have said his administration was focusing its strategy on tougher economic sanctions.
Trump has diverted the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group toward the Korean peninsula, which could take more than a week to arrive, in a show of force aimed at deterring North Korea from conducting another nuclear test or launching more missiles to coincide with major commemorative events.
The possibility of U.S. military action against North Korea in response to such tests gained traction after the U.S. Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadly gas attack.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said he believed Washington would consult Seoul if it was considering a pre-emptive strike against the North.
"Under the South Korea-U.S. alliance, any important measure on the North is taken under consultation with the South Korea government and it will continue in the future," Yun told a parliamentary hearing.
A Washington-based think tank that monitors North Korea, 38 North, said satellite images taken on Wednesday showed continued activity around the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site on the east coast that showed it was ready for a new test.
South Korean officials said on Thursday there were no new signs to indicate a North Korean nuclear test was more likely, although they also said the North has maintained a state of readiness to conduct such a test at any time.
"DAY OF THE SUN"
North Korea marks the 105th anniversary of the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung on Saturday. In 2012, it tried but failed to launch a long-range rocket carrying a satellite to mark the date and tested a newly developed intermediate-range missile last year.

Around 200 foreign journalists are in Pyongyang for North Korea's biggest national day, called "Day of the Sun". Officials gave no details of the big event and similar announcements in the past have been linked to relatively low-key set pieces.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported early on Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un had guided training of the army's special operation forces jumping from aircraft to strike at targets.
"Watching the brave combatants mercilessly blow up the enemy targets, he said with pleasure that the commanding officers made correct decisions, adding those combatants carrying out their duties independently and pro-actively were reminiscent of fierce tigers crossing the mountain ranges in the southern half," KCNA reported.
On Tuesday, North Korea warned of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression. The North is technically at war with the United States and South Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce and not a peace treaty.
The North regularly threatens to destroy both countries.
U.S. officials said Trump was considering tougher sanctions that could possibly include an oil embargo, banning North Korea's airline, intercepting cargo ships, and punishing Chinese banks doing business with Pyongyang.
"There's a whole host of things that are possible, all the way up to what's essentially a trade quarantine on North Korea," one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters in Washington on Wednesday.
Customs data in Beijing on Thursday showed that China's coal imports from North Korea plunged 51.6 percent in the first three months in 2017 from a year ago.
China suspended issuing permits for importing coal from North Korea on Feb. 18 as part of its efforts to implement U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.
In Seoul, the won strengthened to near a one-week intraday high in early trading on Thursday as security fears on the peninsula eased slightly. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up a mere 0.1 percent.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone on Wednesday, just days after they met in the United States for the first time, underscoring the sense of urgency about North Korea.
Trump said on Twitter his call with Xi was a "very good" discussion of the "menace of North Korea". He said later on Wednesday the United States was prepared to tackle the crisis without China if necessary.

Xi stressed that China was "committed to the target of denuclearization on the peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocates resolving problems through peaceful means", Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

(Additional reporting by Natalie Thomas in PYONGYANG, Ju-min Park and James Pearson in SEOUL, Michael Martina in BEIJING, and Matt Spetalnick, David Brunnstrom and Jeff Mason in WASHINGTON; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait)

Gorsuch sworn in as Supreme Court justice in Rose Garden as Trump beams

Neil Gorsuch was sworn in Monday as the newest member of the Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. He was confirmed by the Senate last week following a controversial rule change by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to avoid a Democratic filibuster.

Gorsuch took took separate constitutional and judicial oaths — the latter at a public swearing-in ceremony at the White House Rose Garden — to become the nation’s 113th justice.

“You’re now entrusted with the sacred duty of defending our Constitution,” a beaming President Trump said while introducing Gorsuch. “I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion and the decisions you will make will not only protect our Constitution today, but for many generations of Americans to come.”

Trump thanked McConnell, who was not at the ceremony, “for all that he did to make this achievement possible.”

The president also took the opportunity to declare that a “new optimism is sweeping across our land” — and to boast that he was able to get Gorsuch confirmed within his first 100 days in office.

“Spring is really the perfect backdrop for this gathering of friends,” Trump said, “because together we are in a process of reviewing and renewing and also rebuilding our country.”

The 49-year-old Colorado native thanked Trump, who nominated Gorsuch on Jan. 31, for showing “confidence” in him

Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom Gorsuch once clerked for, administered the judicial oath.

It’s the first time a justice has served alongside a former law clerk on the high court — something Trump thought was especially “good.”

“It shows you have a lot of respect,” Trump said to Gorsuch.

The newest justice said his appointment to the Supreme Court “has reminded me just how outrageously blessed that I am.”

Gorsuch also paid tribute to Scalia, whose family was looking on.

“The seat I inherit today is that of a very, very, very great man,” he said.

After he was sworn in, Trump shook Gorsuch’s hand and told him, “Go get ’em.”

‘Real Russia’ blogger: Trump’s Syria strike was unexpected

A popular Russian blogger said President Trump’s decision to bomb Syria after a chemical weapons attack on the country’s civilians was “a strong step” that surprised many Russians.

Sergey Baklykov, the video blogger behind the English-language “Real Russia” YouTube channel, told Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga on Tuesday that many Russians supported Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton during the U.S. presidential election but were surprised when he won.

Trump surprised many Russians again by ordering airstrikes against Syria last week following reports that Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. The American attack on a Syrian air base apparently seemed out of character to them.

A day before the airstrike, Trump described himself as “flexible” and said the nerve-gas attack had a “big impact” on him. The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who acts as the assistant to the president, is said to have influenced his decision.

“It seems like Trump with this step is not what Russians and Russia expected from him, because when there was the pre-election period, many people in Russia were hoping for the win of Trump because it was different from Hillary. In his speech, there [were] not so many of the same anti-Russian moods,” Baklykov said.

Leading up to the U.S. election, Baklykov said, Trump was portrayed in Russian media as “a good guy,” whereas Clinton was represented as “a bad lady.”

“Now everybody’s just awaiting what will be next,” he said.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Moscow orchestrated a multilayered propaganda campaign aimed at interfering with the presidential election. Baklykov dismissed these findings and said it was implausible that Russia could hack the U.S. election. Baklykov also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin for putting Russia’s interests first.

“Most people really support him, because they think he is not playing the game of other countries, so he is standing for Russia. He works first of all in the interests of our own country. Most Russians … probably think that’s what other governments don’t love about him. They expected him to be a puppet, and he’s not actually.”

Florida Police Release 'ISIS' Video

Efforts to confront a heroin problem in Central Florida have gone viral after a local police department released a commercial featuring officers dressed in gear that resembled that if the Islamic State group, the Miami New Times reported Monday. The new anti-drug ad from the Lake County Sheriff's Office includes the department's top officer delivering a stern message to drug dealers while he is flanked by ski mask-clad officers, similar to many of videos that have been released by ISIS over the years.

"To the dealers that are pushing this poison, I have a message for you: We’re coming for you," he Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell

said threateningly. "As a matter of fact, our undercover agents have already bought heroin from many of you. We are simply awaiting the arrest warrants to be finalized."

Grinnell continued speaking to apparent criminals who he said have already been selected as targets.

"Enjoy trying to sleep at night, wondering if tonight’s the night our SWAT team blows your front door off the hinges. We are coming for you," he added.

The new ad came amid a crackdown statewide by local law enforcement to combat the growing opioid epidemic that has also widely affected the rest of the country. Most efforts have targeted those selling the illicit drug.

"We had officers and deputies who were kind of seeing that we could nab the drug dealers, Dan Faggard, of the State Attorney’s Office in Seminole County, told local news outlet Fox 35 last month. "It really wasn’t that useful not too long ago because our heroin problem here in central Florida is kind of a recent thing."

Heroin use is the U.S. has increased dramatically as of late, especially among white people, according to a report released last month in the JAMA Psychiatry journal.

Gabby Giffords on San Bernardino school shooting: Events like this are no longer ‘unimaginable’

After two adults and one student died in a Monday shooting at an elementary school in San Bernardino, Calif., former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords weighed in, calling for stricter gun legislation, saying, “We can no longer call events like this ‘unimaginable,’ because they happen with alarming frequency.”

“Elementary school classrooms should be safe places, full of kindness — never horror,” Giffords said.

The former Arizona lawmaker became a national spokeswoman for gun control legislation after she survived a 2011 assassination attempt that left six people dead and Giffords critically injured. She founded the group Americans for Responsible Solutions with her husband, Mark Kelly.

“My heart is breaking for San Bernardino, which like so many communities around the country has mourned far too many innocent lives because a violent person was able to get their hands on a gun,” her statement continued. “We can no longer call events like this ‘unimaginable,’ because they happen with alarming frequency. It’s time that all Americans have the courage to truly fight this crisis by standing up and demanding the smart gun laws we know save lives.”

The three victims were killed at North Park Elementary School, where the suspect, 53-year-old Cedric Anderson, arrived at the school and opened fire, killing his wife, Karen Elaine Smith, also 53, a teacher, in what police called an apparent murder-suicide. Two students were wounded, one of whom Jonathan Martinez, 8, later succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

During the previous administration, advocates like Giffords and then-President Barack Obama frequently addressed mass shootings by calling for legislation to curb some people’s ability to buy guns. Such instances included the 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, inspired by the so-called Islamic State, that left 14 people dead.

Giffords’ statement at the time was similar to her comments reacting to this week’s shooting.

“Once again, we wish we could use words like ‘unimaginable’ and ‘unthinkable’ to describe this irresponsible inaction — especially as it comes in the wake of yet another horrific mass shooting in our country,” she said along with Kelly. “But we cannot.”

As Tillerson Begins Russia Talks, Putin Leaves Him Guessing

As Tillerson Begins Russia Talks, Putin Leaves Him Guessing

MOSCOW — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson opened his first meetings in Moscow on Wednesday at a moment when relations between the United States and Russia are so tense that it was unclear whether President Vladimir V. Putin would even see the man he once gave a medal of friendship.

In the 24 hours before Mr. Tillerson landed, the White House accused Mr. Putin’s government of covering up evidence that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for sarin gas attacks on its own people, launched from a base where Russian troops are operating.

Mr. Putin shot back that the charge was fabricated and accused the administration of President Trump, who American intelligence agencies believe benefited from Russian cyberattacks intended to embarrass his Democratic rival during the election campaign, of fabricating the evidence to create a fake confrontation.

“This reminds me very much of the events of 2003, when U.S. representatives in the Security Council showed alleged chemical weapons discovered in Iraq,” Mr. Putin said, referring to an intelligence failure that Mr. Trump has also cited in recent months. “The exact same thing is happening now,” he charged.

Continue reading the main story

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

He quoted two Russian writers, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov, authors of the 1928 satire “The 12 Chairs,” and said, “ ‘It’s boring, ladies.’ We have seen this all before.”

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

But the diplomatic theater playing out in Moscow on a rainy Wednesday morning was far from boring: Mr. Putin, operating on home turf, was looking for any way to shape the narrative of Mr. Tillerson’s first trip here as secretary of state.

The outcome could well decide whether Mr. Trump’s oft-stated desire to remake American relations with Moscow will now disintegrate, just as similar efforts by Barack Obama did early in his presidency.

Russia said earlier this week that Mr. Putin would not meet with Mr. Tillerson, but on Wednesday the Russian leader’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, held out the possibility of a meeting later in the day. Russian leaders have greeted virtually all new secretaries of state since the end of World War II, but Mr. Peskov said any meeting would depend on how Mr. Tillerson’s other talks went.

The drama appeared to be an effort by Mr. Putin to show that he was in control.

Critics of the Trump administration insist that the series of events around the attack in Syria had been meant to distract from the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mr. Tillerson, who was recognized with an Order of Friendship medal by the Russian government while he was the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, has insisted on a tough line on Russia, ruling out any early end to sanctions unless the country returns Crimea to Ukraine and ceases meddling elsewhere.

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

On Syria, Mr. Tillerson delivered what sounded much like an ultimatum to the Russians on Tuesday while talking to reporters at a Group of 7 meeting in Italy.

“I think it is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end,” Mr. Tillerson said, echoing a theme first heard from Mr. Obama in 2011, when the Arab Spring led many to believe the Syrian leader was about to be overthrown.

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

Mr. Tillerson essentially demanded that Russia make a choice, severing ties with Mr. Assad and working with the United States on a variety of initiatives in the Middle East.

But Mr. Putin and his acolytes in the Russian government see the situation very differently. They regard their military intervention in Syria, which the Obama administration did not see coming, as a tactical success.

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

They shored up Mr. Assad and made him dependent on Russia’s presence. That, in turn, assured Russia’s continued access to its naval station in Syria, a move that was critical to the country’s efforts to project power in the Middle East.

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

As Mr. Tillerson entered the foreign ministry here to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, an experienced and wily veteran of many of Russia’s post-Cold War encounters with Washington, the Russian government released another salvo against American intentions here.

Justin Bieber Super Model New Song 2017

Selena Gomez Kill Em With Kindness

Ariana Grande Selena Gomez it's into me New Songs 2017

Portable dog bath lets you wash your dog anywhere

New video of U.S. launching missile attack on Syria

Breaking News: U.S. Launches Airstrikes on Syria; Trump Speaks to Nation

St Petersburg metro explosions 'kill 10'

All The Project Scorpio News

Stockholm lorry rams crowds killing several people

Breaking Tonight, President Donald Trump Latest News

Breaking News , President Trump Latest News Today 4/6/17 , White House news

US Ambassador Nikki Haley Holds News Conference Russia Donald Trump China North Korea

NEWS ALERT , HANNITY W Sean Hannity 4/5/17 . Trump News Today , Breaking News Tonight

Breaking Tonight , President Donald Trump Latest News

Breaking News - U.S, Japan, South Korea Begin Anti North Korea Submarine Exercise

loading...

Breaking News - North Korea Accused U.S Deployed B-1B Lancer 5 Times Into Its Air Space

loading...

How Texas Children’s Hospital Uses the U.S. News & World Report Survey as a Measuring Tool

loading...

U.S. Military In North Korea: ‘Ready To Fight Tonight’

loading...

Behind the Badge – A look into the Adult and Pediatric U.S. News & World Report Rankings Badges

loading...

SHOCK! NO ONE IS SAFE! FBI NOW TARGETING THESE US NEWS SITES FOR AIDING RUSSIAN CYBERWAR

loading...

US Moves Military Equipment in Striking Distance of Damascus

loading...

10 Scientific Breakthroughs That Will Change The World

7 Awesome Inventions You Didn't Know Existed

Colombia starts to bury 273 landslide victims, search continues

MOCOA, Colombia (Reuters) - Scores of decomposing cadavers were being released for burial on Monday as rescuers continued to search for victims of weekend flooding and landslides that devastated a city in southern Colombia, killing at least 273 people.

Desperate families queued for blocks in the heat to search a morgue for loved ones who died when several rivers burst their banks in the early hours of Saturday, sending water, mud and debris crashing down streets and into houses as people slept.

Bodies wrapped in white sheets lay on the concrete floor of the morgue as officials sought to bury them as soon as possible to avoid the spread of disease. The government has begun vaccination against infection.

"Please speed up delivery of the bodies because they are decomposing," said Yadira Andrea Munoz, a 45-year-old housewife who expected to receive the remains of two relatives who died in the tragedy.

But officials asked for families to be patient.

"We don't want bodies to be delivered wrongly," said Carlos Eduardo Valdes, head of the forensic science institute.

The death toll has ticked up during the day as rescuers searched with dogs and machinery in the mud-choked rubble.

Many families in Mocoa have spent days and nights digging through the debris with their hands despite a lack of food, clean water and electricity.

President Juan Manuel Santos, who made a third visit to the area on Monday, blamed climate change for the disaster, saying Mocoa had received one-third of its usual monthly rain in just one night, causing the rivers to burst their banks.

Others said deforestation in surrounding mountains meant there were few trees to prevent water washing down bare slopes.

More than 500 people were staying in emergency housing and social services had helped 10 lost children find their parents. As many as 43 children were killed.

loading...

Families of the dead will receive about $6,400 in aid and the government will cover hospital and funeral costs.

Even in a country where heavy rains, a mountainous landscape and informal construction combine to make landslides a common occurrence, the scale of the Mocoa disaster was daunting compared with recent tragedies, including a 2015 landslide that killed nearly 100 people.

Colombia's deadliest landslide, the 1985 Armero disaster, killed more than 20,000 people.

Santos urged Colombians to take precautions against flooding and continued rains.

Flooding in Peru last month killed more than 100 people and destroyed infrastructure.