May gives lawmakers chance to delay Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday offered lawmakers the chance to vote in two weeks for a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit or to delay Britain’s exit from the European Union if her attempt to ratify a divorce agreement fails. Edward Baran reports.

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Pakistan claims it shot down 2 Indian warplanes in disputed Kashmir province

Pakistan claims it shot down two Indian warplanes, capturing a pilot, in the nuclear-armed rivals' disputed province of Kashmir.

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Trump erupts over explosive Michael Cohen testimony calling president a 'racist conman'

Donald Trump has responded angrily to reports his former lawyer will testify that he is a racist conman, claiming Michael Cohen's allegations are an attempt to reduce his prison time. The president's former attorney is expected to tell the House oversight committee on Wednesday he is a "racist, a conman and a cheat" and that he was negotiating a business deal in Russia on his client's behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump's claim Cohen was merely "one of many lawyers" - an apparent attempt to distance himself from the 52-year-old - is in stark contrast to a 2012 tweet in which he described Mr Cohen as his EVP (executive vice president).

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Australian Cardinal Pell convicted of molesting 2 choirboys

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy's credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up.

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UK PM May proposes votes on no-deal exit and Brexit delay if her deal rejected: Telegraph

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is proposing that parliament votes on whether to leave the European Union without a deal or delay Brexit if her exit deal fails to win parliamentary approval, a Daily Telegraph reporter said on Twitter. "The PM (Prime Minister) has said there will be a three line whip on an amendable motion tomorrow that will commit to two votes on March 12th in the event that her deal fails," Telegraph reporter Steven Swinford wrote, citing details of an ongoing cabinet meeting. ...

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An All-Electric Un-SUV from Volvo? Sort of—Meet the Polestar 2

Volvo's experimental arm builds a Tesla fighter loaded with tech.

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Pennsylvania teen found alive after five family members murdered

A teen whose mother and twin 9-year-old sisters were among five family members killed in their Pennsylvania home was staying at a friend's house at the time of the murders and is safe, officials said on Tuesday. Joshua Campbell, 17, was not at home when his aunt Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, are alleged to have murdered five relatives in their apartment in Morrisville, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Philadelphia, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said. After police found the bodies on Monday, relatives of the victims said they had begged authorities for weeks to check on Shana Decree due to concerns she might have fallen under the influence of a fringe religious group.

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Seinfeld sues California classic car dealer over '58 Porsche

Jerry Seinfeld sued a California dealer in classic cars Monday, saying the company has left the comedian stranded in a dispute over whether a 1958 Porsche he sold is authentic.

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Trump and Kim Jong Un might officially end the Korean War. Here's why that could matter.

After 66 years, a peace declaration at the Vietnam summit could lead to negotiations and more normal relations between the two Koreas and America.

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Political operative arrested in North Carolina scandal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The political operative at the center of an election fraud scandal that has engulfed a North Carolina congressional race was arrested Wednesday on charges of illegal ballot handling and conspiracy. Four people working for him were also charged.

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Judge Gives Elon Musk 2 Weeks to Explain Why He Shouldn't Be Held in Contempt for Tweets

The judge has not yet scheduled a hearing to weigh the S.E.C.'s contempt request

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Q&A: What's at stake as India-Pakistan tensions rise?

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan face their worst tension in years over the disputed region of Kashmir, with Islamabad saying they shot down two Indian warplanes Wednesday and captured a pilot. Pakistan, which previously said it captured two pilots, immediately shut down its civilian airspace in response.

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Donald Trump has leverage going into Vietnam summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Full denuclearization is an implausible goal. US should pursue diplomacy, trade and normalcy with North Korea, and that seems to be Trump's plan.

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The Latest: Election dates in US House race set next week

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the unresolved North Carolina congressional race (all times local):

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May gives lawmakers chance to delay Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday offered lawmakers the chance to vote in two weeks for a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit or to delay Britain’s exit from the European Union if her attempt to ratify a divorce agreement fails. Edward Baran reports.

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India launches air strike in Pakistan; Islamabad denies militant camp hit

Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month. The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: "You all know what that means." The air strike near Balakot, a town 50 km (30 miles) from the frontier, was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971 but there were competing claims about any damage caused. The Indian government, facing an election in the coming months, said the air strikes hit a training camp belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the group that claimed a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Feb. 14.

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All-New 2020 Toyota Corolla First-Drive Review

All-New 2020 Toyota Corolla Adds Sizzle, Still Sensible The redesigned 2020 Toyota Corolla sedan joins the Corolla hatchback (which we’ve already tested), and it is offered for the first time as...

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Kashmir conflict heats up as India, Pakistan claim to down each other's jets

Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. Pakistan says no one died.

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Trump-Kim summit: North Korea leader arrives in Vietnam to red carpet reception ahead of talks

Kim Jong-un has rolled into Hanoi in an armoured limousine ahead of talks with Donald Trump in the Vietnamese capital. The North Korean leader had earlier received a red-carpet reception amid tight security following a 65-hour, 2,500-mile journey from Pyongyang in a bulletproof train. After disembarking at Dong Dang rail station, close to Vietnam’s border with China, he walked past a guard of honour before climbing into his personal Mercedes limousine on Tuesday morning.

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Guaido's Safety Is at Risk in Return to Venezuela, U.S. Envoy Warns

(Bloomberg) -- The safety of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is at risk as he prepares to return to his country and embattled President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, the top U.S. envoy for the crisis told the United Nations Security Council.

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China expresses 'deep concern' over India-Pakistan conflict

A senior Chinese diplomat expressed "deep concern" over the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, after the two countries said they shot down each other's fighter jets. State Councillor Wang Yi, the Chinese government's top diplomat made the comments in a telephone conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, China's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website on Thursday. Qureshi telephoned Wang to inform him of the latest developments in the conflict and to express hope that China would continue to play a "constructive role" in easing tensions, the statement said.

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Manafort sentencing hearing rescheduled to March 7: court filing

A federal judge in Virginia rescheduled the sentencing hearing for Paul Manafort, the former chairman of U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, to March 7, according to a court filing on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear why the sentencing hearing was rescheduled from March 8. Manafort was convicted in August of eight charges of bank and tax fraud as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

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Hanoi Postcard: Vietnam sees upside to media invasion

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — For a one-party communist state without a free press, there were bound to be some kinks when Vietnam agreed to welcome more than 2,600 journalists from around the world to its capital for one of the biggest news stories of the year.

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Upland PD: Mother to face charges after daughter dies, son thrown off balcony

An Upland mother is expected to face charges for killing her infant girl and throwing her son off a balcony, police say.

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Ocasio-Cortez – 'who actually worked for wages' - rebukes Ivanka Trump

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described her experience ‘as a person who actually worked for tips and hourly wages’. Without calling her out outright, the Democratic freshman congresswoman and Twitter wonder Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday rebuked the first daughter Ivanka Trump for sounding off on something she could never truly understand: working for a living wage. Describing her expertise “as a person who actually worked for tips and hourly wages”, Ocasio-Cortez essentially pointed out that Ivanka Trump has never had to work a minimum wage job in her life and that her comments on the Green New Deal jobs guarantee rang hollow.

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GOP Rep.: Michael Cohen Is a ‘Fake Witness’ and His Testimony Is a ‘Travesty’

Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.) labeled President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen a “fake witness” during Cohen's appearance before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday and suggested there was no value to hearing the testimony of a proven liar.“Ladies and gentlemen, how on earth is this witness credible?” Green asked. “With all the lies and deception, the self-serving fraud. It begs the question: What is the majority party doing here? No one can see this guy as credible. He will say whatever he wants to accomplish his own personal goals. He’s a fake witness. His presence here is a travesty.”Green criticized Representative Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), the chairman of the Oversight Committee, for restricting the topics that lawmakers are permitted to question Cohen about, listing each approved topic and arguing in detail that Cohen's testimony on those matters lacked credibility.“Mr. Chairman the first topic in your limited scope that I can ask Mr. Cohen is about the president's debts. But Mr. Chairman, didn't Mr. Cohen plead guilty to lying to banks about his personal finances? So we're asking a guy going to jail for lying about his debts to comment about the president's debts. He's the expert,” Green said.Cohen pled guilty to bank-fraud charges in August after admitting he lied to a number of financial institutions regarding his outstanding debt in order to secure personal loans. He was sentenced to serve three years in prison in December on those charges as well as the additional charge of lying to Congress, which he pled guilty to in November.Republican lawmakers sought to discredit Cohen throughout his Wednesday testimony, frequently challenging him to explain how the financial crimes he committed to protect his personal assets benefited President Trump, refuting Cohen's defense that he acted immorally “out of blind loyalty” to the president.

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Tesla's Musk must address SEC contempt bid as he calls agency 'broken'

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk to explain by March 11 why he should not be held in contempt for violating his fraud settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The order by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan came hours after the billionaire criticized SEC oversight as "broken," in the wake of the regulator's request on Monday night that he be held in contempt. Lawyers for Tesla and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Attacked and powerless, Venezuela soldiers choose desertion

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The simple house on a street ridden with potholes in this town on Colombia's restive border with Venezuela has become a refuge for the newly homeless: 40 Venezuelan soldiers who abandoned their posts and ran for their lives.

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Church sex abuse scandal: Vatican opens investigation into Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican's third-most powerful official, was remanded to prison in Australia for sexually abusing two choirboys.

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Ivanka Trump endorses working your way up through life

Ivanka Trump, elder daughter of a billionaire president, married to the son of a real estate mogul, thinks Americans want to make their own way up life’s ladder.

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Republican Harris will not run again after tainted U.S. House election

Harris attributed his decision to health concerns. The unanimous vote by North Carolina's bipartisan elections board followed four days of evidence showing an operative for Harris' campaign had orchestrated a ballot fraud scheme in the state's 9th Congressional District. Harris, a pastor who previously edged out then-incumbent Republican Congressman Robert Pittenger in a close primary, had sought for months to fend off a general election rerun.

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Timeline: R. Kelly's history of sex-abuse arrests, indictments and lawsuits over the years

In the more than 10 years between his two arrests, Kelly has been accused by an army of women of physical and sexual abuse.

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Michael Cohen testimony: Trump said black people were 'too stupid' to vote for him, former lawyer to claim in explosive racism allegations

Donald Trump is a racist whose prejudice is “even worse” in private than his public outbursts suggest, the president’s former lawyer Michael Cohen is due to say in explosive testimony before Congress. “Mr Trump is a racist.

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FOX NEWS: Exchange between Cohen and congresswoman turns into instant meme

Exchange between Cohen and congresswoman turns into instant meme



Michael Cohen, President Trump’s ex-fixer, delivered a hard-hitting testimony before Congress on Wednesday that, most would agree, was devoid of any humor.

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Billy Porter speaks on Oscars gown and social media hate

NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Porter, speaking to Vogue before he walked the Oscars red carpet, knew what he was in for among some social media users:

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Pakistan 'captures Indian pilot after shooting down two jets in dogfight over Kashmir'

Two planes shot down over Kashmir border Pakistan claims to have two pilots held Sources: jets shot down in 'four-on-four' dogfight Both countries dispute each other's claims Analysis: Pakistan and India need help climbing down, or risk another war over Kashmir ​ Pakistan has claimed to have shot down two Indian jets and captured a pilot after a dogfight over Kashmir, igniting fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours.  Tensions remain high on the Asian Subcontinent where tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers face off along the disputed Kashmir boundary. There are competing claims regarding the exact details of what has taken place, but Pakistan's Major General Asif Ghafoor said a pilot was in Army custody. Pakistan had earlier said it was holding two pilots. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier Wednesday flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in disputed Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Although this version of events is disputed by India, the Pakistani official said: "The Pakistan Air Force was ready, they took them on, there was an engagement. As a result both the Indian planes were shot down and the wreckage of one fell on our side while the wreckage of the other fell on their side." Pulwama suicide attack - Map Initially, the Indian Air Force (IAF) denied Pakistani claims, despite videos of the two pilots in Pakistani captivity being broadcast by state media. The IAF is also decried claims that two Indian fighter aircraft had been shot down. But later on Wednesday a foreign ministry official told a press conference in Delhi that there was an "aerial engagement", conceding just one Indian jet was shot down.  IAF sources said that there were four Pakistani F-16 fighters against four IAF MiG-21 Bison combat aircraft and the dogfight happened in a chase. The four Pakistani fighters are believed to have tried attacking an ammunition dump at Nowshera near the Line of Control in Kashmir, when they were chased by four Indian planes. India claims it has also shot down one of the Pakistani fighter jets.  The incident is the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. Islamabad insisted the latest move was in self defence and officials said strikes had been taken at non-military targets avoiding civilian casualties. Ghafoor said: "We do not want escalation, we do not want to go towards war," at a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, calling for talks with New Delhi. Pakistan closed its airspace Wednesday, "until further notice", the civil aviation authority and the military said. A military spokesman said the decision had been taken "due to the environment". How did we get here? The claim came a little over 24 hours after Delhi said it had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp near Balakot where it said militants were preparing for imminent terrorist attacks. Islamabad had denied any camp was struck, but on Tuesday warned India to prepare for a surprise and vowed a "befitting" response at a time and place of its choosing. In a statement headed "Pakistan strikes back", the foreign ministry said the action was not retaliation " to continued Indian belligerence". "Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence.  Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district Credit: AFP A spokesman for Pakistan's military said that Indian jets had then crossed the line of control and the Pakistan air forces had gone on to shoot two of them down inside Pakistani airspace. "One of the aircraft fell inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while other fell inside Indian Occupied Kashmir. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," said Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor. There was no immediate response from Delhi, but Indian media did report an Indian air force jet crashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday morning. Delhi said on Tuesday it had said it had struck a pre-emptive blow against the Pakistan-based militant group it blames for a suicide bomb that killed at least 40 paramilitary police in Kashmir earlier this month. The force of jets destroyed a hilltop training camp near Balakot where Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) jihadists were preparing an imminent attack, the country's foreign minister said. But Pakistan dismissed that claim as “fictitious” and “self-serving”, saying its own jets had intercepted the raiding force and seen it off. Pakistan's military said the Indian jets dropped their payload of bombs “in haste” as they fled and they caused no damage after landing in deserted forest. Indian soldiers gesture near the remains of an Indian Air Force helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district, outside Srinagar on February 27, 2019 Credit: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Villagers near Balakot said they had been woken by jets and four blasts in an area close to a JeM madrassa. But they denied heavy casualties and said the damage was largely to trees. One person was wounded. "We saw trees fallen down and one house damaged and four craters where the bombs had fallen," said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site told Reuters. Another neighbour, who declined to be named, said JeM ran a nearby Islamic school. An Indian attack had been widely predicted as Narendra Modi faced domestic outrage over the bomb attack in Pulwama blamed on JeM. A history of trouble Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring and supporting militant groups as tools of its foreign policy in India, Kashmir and Afghanistan. JeM is a primarily anti-India group that forged ties with al Qaeda and has been on a UN terrorist list since 2001. India says the JeM was also behind the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and on an Indian air force base in 2016. Pakistan denies any involvement in the Pulwama attack and has challenged Delhi to deliver actionable intelligence on who carried out the attack. Indian and Pakistan: timeline of a testy relationship Western diplomats now fear any counter retaliation by Pakistan could dangerously escalate the stand-off and trigger an international crisis. One diplomat said both sides must try to carefully measure their action to satisfy domestic nationalist fervour, while not provoking all out war. However with an Indian general election only weeks away, Mr Modi had come under intense pressure to act. As news channels on both sides of the border became increasingly bellicose, a Pakistani military spokesman even alluded to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric. Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand near the remains of an Indian Air Force helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district Credit: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: "You all know what that means." The Indian strike 30 miles from the frontier was thought to be the first strike inside its neighbour's territory since their 1971 war. Indian military sources said 12 French Mirage 2000 fighters crossed the line of control dividing the adversaries in Kashmir on their raid into Pakistani territory at around 3.15am local time. Accompanied by an airborne early warning and control aircraft and a mid-air re-fueller, the Mirages reportedly employed 1,000kg precision guided munitions to hit their targets in a mission that lasted a few minutes. Kashmir: why the tension?  The Kashmir dispute dates from 1947. The partition of the Indian sub-continent along religious lines led to the formation of India and Pakistan. However, there remained the problem of over 650 states, run by princes, existing within the two newly independent countries. In theory, these princely states had the option of deciding which country to join, or of remaining independent. In practice, the restive population of each province proved decisive. As a result, both India and Pakistan control parts of Kashmir, but claim it in its entirety and have fought two wars over Kashmir since Partition in 1947. Where do we go now? Pakistan have claimed the two pilots are being treated well, according to its state media.  One is in hospital and one has been arrested, but there are question marks over where this tit-for-tat will go next.  Islamabad has said it does not want to escalate the situation to a full-blown war - a sentiment echoed by those around the world.  China is renewing calls for Pakistan and India to take steps to avoid a further deterioration of ties following the latest flare-up. Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area Credit: Mukhtar Khan/AP Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday that "both Pakistan and India are important countries in the subcontinent of South Asia." He added that China hopes "they will keep in mind the regional peace and stability, exercise restraint, take effective measures to strengthen dialogue, and maintain two sides' fundamental interests and the regional peace and stability." Lu also said: "We hope they will avoid deterioration of the situation." China is longstanding close ally and arms supplier to Pakistan, but has also sought better ties with its southern neighbor and Asian rival India. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also urged the two countries to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost, and said in a statement he had spoken to foreign ministers from Indian and Pakistan to "encourage both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity."  Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.

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Trump's presidency at stake, Republicans cast Cohen as ‘fraudster’ as hearing begins

Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sparred before Michael Cohen’s testimony, with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accusing the committee’s chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., of using Cohen’s hearing to damage President Trump.

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Robert Kraft prostitution scandal exposes depth of modern slavery, sex trafficking industry

Sex trafficking won't stop until the costs are high enough to make rich, powerful men feel that buying Chinese girls from a local spa isn't worth it.

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Tensions escalate as Indian airstrike hits inside Pakistan

BALAKOT, Pakistan (AP) — Tensions escalated sharply on the Asian subcontinent Tuesday with nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India trading accusations and warnings after a pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp.

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Trump-Kim summit: North Korea leader arrives in Vietnam to red carpet reception ahead of talks

Kim Jong-un has rolled into Hanoi in an armoured limousine ahead of talks with Donald Trump in the Vietnamese capital. The North Korean leader had earlier received a red-carpet reception amid tight security following a 65-hour, 2,500-mile journey from Pyongyang in a bulletproof train. After disembarking at Dong Dang rail station, close to Vietnam’s border with China, he walked past a guard of honour before climbing into his personal Mercedes limousine on Tuesday morning.

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U.S. Seeks UN Security Council Vote on New Venezuela Resolution

The resolution, which would likely face a Russian veto, stresses “the need to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Venezuela and to facilitate unhindered access and delivery of assistance to all in need,” according to a draft of the text obtained by Bloomberg. Violence has raged along Venezuela’s borders as National Assembly leader Juan Guaido and his supporters -- which include the U.S. and 50 other nations -- amassed supplies at entry points in Colombia and Brazil.

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Interstate 80 remains closed in the Sierra due to heavy snow

I-80 CLOSED: Heavy snow in the Sierra forces freeway closure

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India launches air strike in Pakistan; Islamabad denies militant camp hit

Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month. The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: "You all know what that means." The air strike near Balakot, a town 50 km (30 miles) from the frontier, was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971 but there were competing claims about any damage caused. The Indian government, facing an election in the coming months, said the air strikes hit a training camp belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the group that claimed a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Feb. 14.

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U.S. disrupted Russian trolls on day of November election: report

The U.S. military disrupted the internet access of a Russian troll farm accused of trying to influence American voters on Nov. 6, 2018, the day of the congressional elections, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The U.S. Cyber Command strike targeted the Internet Research Agency in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg, the Post reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials. The group is a Kremlin-backed outfit whose employees had posed as Americans and spread disinformation online in an attempt to also influence the 2016 election, according to U.S. officials.

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Justice Department loses appeal to block AT&T-Time Warner merger, won't appeal again

The Justice Department, which lost its latest attempt to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger, will not appeal the U.S. District Court of Appeals ruling.

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Tesla's Musk must address SEC contempt bid as he calls agency 'broken'

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk to explain by March 11 why he should not be held in contempt for violating his fraud settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The order by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan came hours after the billionaire criticized SEC oversight as "broken," in the wake of the regulator's request on Monday night that he be held in contempt. Lawyers for Tesla and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Donald Trump meets Kim Jong-un at Vietnam summit and praises North Korea's 'unlimited' potential

Donald Trump praised Kim Jong-un as a “great leader” on Wednesday and talked up North Korea’s “unlimited” economic potential as the pair begun their two-day summit in Vietnam.  The US and North Korean leaders shared a 10-second handshake, warm words and a laugh while posing for the camera as they met for only the second time in Hanoi, the Vietnam capital.  They talked alone at first, save only for interpreters, before enjoying a wider dinner with key members of their administrations at a luxury colonial-era hotel in the city.  Mr Trump, who earlier in the day had tweeted about “my friend Kim”, talked up North Korea’s economic prospects - the carrot with which he hopes to convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons. “I think that your country has tremendous economic potential - unbelievable, unlimited," the US president told Kim at the beginning of their one-on-one chat.  "I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country - a great leader - and I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen."   Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un at dinner at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi Credit: Broadcast via AP   Kim said that North Korea had been “misunderstood” and viewed with “distrust” in the past but praised the steps Washington and Pyongyang have made to ease tensions.  “There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take," Kim said, before adding that those challenges had been “overcome”.  He said of the Vietnam summit: "I am confident that we can achieve great results that everyone welcomes." The civility of the exchanges underscored the remarkable thawing in relations between Mr Trump, 72, and Kim, 35, over the last 18 months.  Mr Trump’s first year in office was marked with threats of “fire and fury” and mockery of Kim as “Little Rocket Man” but from early 2018 tensions eased, culminating in a historic summit in Singapore last June.  There were no policy breakthroughs announced on Wednesday evening, with more substantial talks about implementing Kim’s loose pledge to denuclearise at the Singapore summit due to take place on Thursday.    A television screen shows a news broadcast of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, at a railway station in Seoul Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images   Instead the leaders put on a display of mutual respect when they met at the Metropole, a luxury French colonial-era hotel that includes actor Charlie Chaplin and author Graham Greene among its famous past guests.  Striding out towards each other shortly before 7pm local time, Mr Trump and Kim shook hands against a backdrop of a dozen interwoven US and North Korean flags.  Mr Trump patted Kim on his back before they turned to pose for the cameras, with the pair sharing a laugh before heading off to their negotiations.  The US president was asked by one reporter whether the summit would result in a political declaration to end the Korean War. "We'll see,” he responded. A one-on-one chat was followed by dinner with an extended ground of aides around a small round table covered by a white tablecloth.    Kim Jong-un receives a bouquet of flowers as he arrives at the Melia hotel in Hanoi Credit: KCNA/AFP   Mr Trump was joined by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, and Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff. Alongside Kim was Kim Yong Chol, a former military spy chief helping lead negotiations, and Ri Yong Ho, the North Korean foreign affairs minister. Two translators also attended.  "A lot of things are going to be solved I hope," Mr Trump said as dinner begun. "I think it will lead to a wonderful, really a wonderful situation long-term." The White House unexpectedly restricted access for the handful of reporters following the group, allowing just one print reporter into the dinner.  Two reporters who asked questions during the handshake were reportedly not allowed to attend, prompting outrage from Washington journalists over press restrictions.    A child wears a North Korean flag on her cheek outside the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship kindergarten in Hanoi Credit: Noel Celis/AFP    Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said of the incident that “due to the sensitive nature of the meeting” the group of reporters allowed in had to be “limited”. Mr Trump earlier in the day had met the Vietnamese president Nguyen Phu Trong and prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.  The US president, who was greeted by scores of children waving Vietnam and US flags before the meetings, signed trade deals that confirmed the sale of more than 100 Boeing jets to Vietnamese businesses.  Mr Trump tweeted at the start of the day: “Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize.  “The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!” But some local politicians played down the hope of the summit creating a major breakthrough.  Dr Ngo Quang Xuan, vice-chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Vietnam’s National Assembly, told The Telegraph: “It [denuclearisation] is a very sensitive and difficult objective to obtain, and that’s why it will take time – not one or two days, not one month – for the final settlement.”

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US seeks vote on UN resolution to allow aid into Venezuela

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. envoy Elliott Abrams said Tuesday the Trump administration will seek a U.N. Security Council vote this week on a resolution calling for Venezuela's government to let in humanitarian aid and to hold free elections, and then sparred with Russia over possible U.S. military intervention in the politically divided country.

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Michael Cohen's explosive allegations suggest danger for Trump on two fronts

Michael Cohen on Wednesday delivered a sharp warning to Donald Trump and the Republican party that the president faces legal and political peril on at least two fronts. Cohen became the first Trump associate to allege that, in 2016, Trump knew in advance that his eldest son, Donald Jr, was meeting Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton – and that WikiLeaks would be releasing emails stolen from Democrats by Russian operatives. Cohen was asked by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat forced to resign as party chairwoman over the WikiLeaks disclosures, how they could corroborate his explosive allegations, which are based on remarks he says he overheard in Trump’s office.

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Key Asia-Europe Air Route Closed as India-Pakistan Tensions Rise

A Singapore Airlines Ltd. flight to London was diverted to Dubai Wednesday to refuel before heading to its final destination, the carrier said in an email. Qantas Airways Ltd. had to change the flight path for its London-Singapore service, which is scheduled to arrive at the Asian city-state later Thursday, adding an extra 20 minutes to the journey. Thai Airways International Pcl scrapped all 10 flights from Europe to Bangkok as well as those to Pakistan that were due to depart late Wednesday and early Thursday, it said on its website.

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