Trump continues UK tour, meets Queen amid public protests

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US President Donald Trump and first lady Melanie Trump are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II, during an arrival ceremony with the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, July 13, 2018. (AP)
Updated 13 July 2018
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Trump continues UK tour, meets Queen amid public protests

  • In the interview in The Sun tabloid published Friday, Trump said May's plans to keep close economic ties with the EU after Brexit would "kill" its hopes of a US trade deal.
  • He also warned about migration into European cities including London, criticising Mayor Sadiq Khan over recent terror attacks and knife crime.

LONDON: US President Donald Trump met Britain's Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle on Friday.
While Trump's trip was not the full state visit he was originally promised, he was heralded by military bands on his arrival at Windsor, before he and First Lady Melania had tea with the 92-year-old queen.
As Elizabeth waited for Trump's arrival, she glanced at her watch. At one point, Trump halted abruptly and the British queen had to walk around the US president while they were inspecting the guard.
He is due to fly to Scotland later on Friday for a private trip, before heading to Helsinki for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier on in the day, US President Donald Trump arrived at British Prime Minister Theresa May's Chequers country residence for talks followed by a news conference.
At the 16th century country house, May and Trump had lunch and then spoke to reporters on the second day of Trump’s visit to the UK.

Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in London on Friday against US President Donald Trump, whose four-day visit to Britain has been marred by his extraordinary attack on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.

"#DumpTrump", "This is the carnival of resistance" and "My mum doesn't like you! And she likes everyone" read some of the signs held up by protesters as they marched down Oxford Street towards Trafalgar Square.

"No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!", the protesters chanted.




Demonstrators, from a number of different groups, take part in an anti-Trump protest in central London, Britain, July 13, 2018. (Reuters)

Some protesters banged on pots and pans, others blew on trumpets and many held up orange "Stop Trump" balloons.

Grant White, 32, carried a sign depicting Trump as the Twitter bird symbol wearing a swastika around his arm.

"I am anti-Brexit, anti-Trump. There is a wave of fascism which we have to get rid of," he said.

Dawn, 49, came with her 11-year-old daughter Sadie.

"Trump is the man with the biggest ego in charge of the biggest power in the world. He doesn't have a grasp of what is needed in the world," the mother said.

Her daughter said: "He doesn't accept people who have a different religion in his country, where there is big diversity."

Campaigners elsewhere in London flew a "Baby Trump" balloon, an act of protest approved by London mayor Sadiq Khan which has proved particularly contentious for Trump and his supporters.

The number of protestors could have been swelled by Trump's interview to The Sun newspaper which emerged after British Prime Minister Theresa May hosted him at an opulent black-tie dinner on Thursday in the leafy splendor of Blenheim Palace.




A giant balloon inflated by activists depicting US President Donald Trump as an orange baby is seen during a demonstration against Trump's visit to the UK in Parliament Square in London on July 13, 2018. (AFP)


In the interview in The Sun tabloid published Friday, Trump said May's plans to keep close economic ties with the EU after Brexit would "kill" its hopes of a US trade deal.
He also warned about migration into European cities including London, criticising Mayor Sadiq Khan over recent terror attacks and knife crime.
He also suggested Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign secretary this week in protest at May's Brexit proposal, would make a good prime minister.
"@realDonaldTrump determined to insult our PM," said Sarah Woollaston, a Conservative MP and chairwoman of parliament's health committee.
However, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman said Friday that she has a good relationship with Donald Trump and is confident a trade deal can be agreed with the United States after the president criticised her Brexit plans in an interview.
"Trade is one of the top items for discussions between the president and the PM today and ... we are confident that we can do a good trade deal with the US," the spokeswoman told reporters.
"The prime minister has a good relationship with the president.”
Sitting alongside May at the beginning of talks at the prime minister's country retreat of Chequers, Trump said Friday his relationship with Prime Minister Theresa May was "very, very strong" after his earlier attack on her Brexit strategy.
He said: "The relationship is very, very strong. We really have a very good relationship."
Trump spoke at a news conference with May following meetings at her official country estate outside of London. During the conference, he said that the interview with The Sun was fake news and that he did not criticize May. 




US President Donald Trump (L) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (R) shake hands during a press conference following their meeting at Chequers.(AFP)

Theresa May is an "incredible woman" who is "doing a fantastic job" as the British prime minister.
Trump commented as he sought to soften the blow after he criticized aspects of her leadership in the interview published by The Sun. 
The US president also said that he discussed a range of priorities including nuclear non-proliferation with May during their meetings. He said that it was the “biggest problem in the world.”

"We discussed a range of priorities including stopping nuclear proliferation. I thanked (May) for her partnership in our pursuit of a nuclear-free North Korea. We both agreed that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon."

He added that he encouraged May to “sustain pressure on Iran.” 

Contrary to the comments he made in his interview with The Sun regarding Brexit, President Trump also said that however the UK leaves the EU “is ok with me.”

Trump added that “Brexit is a very tough situation...between the borders and the entries into the countries and all of the things."

"The only thing I ask is that she (May) work it out so that we can have very even trade because we do not have a fair deal with the EU right now on trade. They treat the US horribly and that's going to change."
"If it doesn't change, they're going to have to pay a very big price."




Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump walk away after holding a joint news conference at Chequers. (Reuters)

Asked to rate US-UK relations, Trump gave them the "highest level of special."

President Trump also said that he will bring up the issue of Syria at his meeting with Putin in Helsinki on Monday.

(With agencies)


Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse

Updated 7 sec ago
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Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse

  • Nearly 150,000 new Rohingya refugees have arrived in Cox’s Bazar over the past 18 months
  • Without additional funding, critical food assistance will stop by December, UNHCR says

DHAKA: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are at heightened risk of losing access to essential services, the UN refugee agency has warned as it struggles to secure adequate funding.

Bangladesh hosts more than 1.3 million Rohingya on its southeast coast, who are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar — the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Nearly 150,000 of them have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State over the past 18 months in what has become the largest influx since 2017, when some 750,000 Rohingya crossed to neighboring Bangladesh to escape a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which the UN has been referring to as a textbook case of ethnic cleansing.

“With the acute global funding crisis, the critical needs of both newly arrived refugees and those already present will be unmet, and essential services for the whole Rohingya refugee population are at risk of collapsing,” the UNHCR said in a statement issued on Friday.

Only 35 percent of UNHCR’s $255 million appeal for the Rohingya has been funded.

Unless the agency secures additional funds, health services for the Rohingya population in Bangladesh will be “severely disrupted by September and essential cooking fuel, or LPG, will run out. By December, food assistance will stop.”

Severe aid cuts from major donors, such as the US under President Donald Trump and other Western countries, have had a major impact on the humanitarian sector.

The education of Rohingya children has already been impacted, as the UN’s children agency UNICEF was forced to suspend thousands of learning centers in Cox’s Bazar last month, worsening an education crisis for about 437,000 school-age children in the camps.

“The funding crisis for the Rohingyas is in a very dire state now. The health sector is next, as it is hit hard by the fund crunch. Many of the health centers have suspended their services that severely impacted thousands of pregnant women, lactating mothers, newborn babies and children,” Mizanur Rahman, refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News on Saturday.

Bangladesh has not been able to arrange new shelters for the newly arrived Rohingya, with most of them now living with relatives who arrived earlier, he added.

“Site management, which covers the water and sanitation issues, is also reeling. Shelter management is facing a bad situation,” Rahman said.

“The ongoing crisis may force the Rohingyas to complete desperation.”


Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’

Updated 30 min 33 sec ago
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Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’

  • Relations between the two countries deepened during the conflict in Ukraine
  • North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s Kursk region

SEOUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, where he described the two nations’ relations as “an invincible fighting brotherhood,” Russia’s foreign ministry said. The ministry quoted Lavrov as saying that the visit represented the continuation of “strategic dialogue” between the two sides inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea last year.

In a message passed on by Lavrov, Putin said that he hoped for more direct contacts in future, TASS news agency reported.

Lavrov, the ministry said, also thanked North Korea for the troops it had sent to Russia.

Relations between the two countries deepened during the conflict in Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed during the months-long campaign to oust Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region, while Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. Lavrov also met with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, TASS reported.

Lavrov arrived in Wonsan on Friday from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur following the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting. Home to a newly opened seaside resort, Wonsan is also known for its missile and naval facilities.

Lavrov’s visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries as they upgrade their strategic cooperation to now include a mutual defense pact.

“We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis ... Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

It also quoted his deputy Andrei Rudenko as saying more high-level delegations would visit North Korea later this year.

The South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy more troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in the war against Ukraine.

North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a mass cross-border incursion nearly a year ago.

Russian news agencies said after North Korea, Lavrov was due to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

TASS said the new Wonsan coastal resort could boost Russian tourism to North Korea, citing the resumption of direct trains from Moscow to Pyongyang and a project to build a bridge across the Tumen River forming part of the boundary between North Korea, China and Russia.


Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says

Updated 12 July 2025
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Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says

  • More than 80 percent of the world’s dust comes from the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East
  • About 2 billion tons of dust are emitted yearly, equivalent to 300 Great Pyramids of Giza

UNITED NATIONS: Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries and are taking an increasing toll on health, economies and the environment, the UN World Meteorological Organization says.

“About 2 billion tons of dust are emitted yearly, equivalent to 300 Great Pyramids of Giza” in Egypt, the organization’s UN representative, Laura Paterson, told the General Assembly.

More than 80 percent of the world’s dust comes from the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, she said, but it has a global impact because the particles can travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometers (miles) across continents and oceans.

The General Assembly was marking the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms on Saturday and its designation of 2025 to 2034 as the UN decade on combating sand and dust storms.

Assembly President Philemon Yang said the storms “are fast becoming one of the most overlooked yet far-reaching global challenges of our time.”

“They are driven by climate change, land degradation and unsustainable practices,” he said.

Yang, in a speech Thursday that was read by an assembly vice president, said airborne particles from sand and dust storms contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year. He said they trigger respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and reduce crop yields by up to 25 percent, causing hunger and migration.

Undersecretary-General Rola Dashti, head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, told the assembly the storms’ economic costs are “staggering.”

In the Middle East and North Africa, the annual cost of dealing with dust and sandstorms is $150 billion, roughly 2.5 percent of GDP, she said.

“This spring alone, the Arab region experienced acute disruption,” Dashti said, citing severe storms in Iraq that overwhelmed hospitals with respiratory cases and storms in Kuwait and Iran that forced schools and offices to close.

Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa has reached as far as the Caribbean and Florida, she said.

Dashti, who also co-chairs the UN Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, said over 20 UN and international agencies are working to unite efforts on early warning systems for storms and to deal with other issues, including health and financing.

She urged all countries to put sand and dust storms into global and national agendas.

“From land restoration and sustainable agriculture to integrated early warning systems, we have the tools to act,” Dashti said. “What we need now is collective determination and financing to bring these solutions to scale.”


More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses

Updated 12 July 2025
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More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses

  • Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military ousted a democratic government in 2021
  • A local resident confirmed that the Buddhist monastery hall was ‘completely destroyed’

BANGKOK: More than 20 civilians, including children, were killed after a recent air strike on a monastery in central Myanmar, an anti-junta fighter and a resident said Saturday.

Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military ousted a democratic government in 2021, and central Sagaing region has been particularly hard-hit, with the junta pummeling villages with air strikes targeting armed groups.

The most recent occurred around 1:00 am Friday in Lin Ta Lu village when “the monastery hall where internally displaced people were staying” was hit with an air strike, said an anti-junta fighter, who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

He said that 22 people were killed, including three children, while two were wounded and remained in critical condition at the hospital.

“They had thought it was safe to stay at a Buddhist monastery,” the anti-junta fighter said. “But they were bombed anyway.”

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

A local resident confirmed that the monastery hall was “completely destroyed,” adding that he saw some bodies loaded into a car and transported to a cemetery at dawn on Friday after the air strike.

He said when he went to the cemetery to take photos to help with identifying the dead, he counted 22 bodies.

“Many of the bodies had head wounds or were torn apart. It was sad to see,” said the resident, who also asked to remain anonymous.

Sagaing region was the epicenter of a devastating magnitude-7.7 quake in March, which left nearly 3,800 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

After the quake, there was a purported truce between the junta and armed groups, but air strikes and fighting have continued, according to conflict monitors.

In May, an air strike on a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin in Sagaing killed 20 students and two teachers.


Russia’s drones and missile barrage targets Ukraine’s west, kills two

Updated 12 July 2025
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Russia’s drones and missile barrage targets Ukraine’s west, kills two

  • Western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi suffered the most due to the Russian attacks

KYIV: Russia launched a new barrage of drones and missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, targeting the west of the country and killing at least two people in the city of Chernivtsi on the border with Romania.

Western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi suffered the most due to the Russian attacks, and other Ukrainian regions were also hit, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said.

“Russia continues to escalate its terror, launching another barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles, damaging residential areas, killing and injuring civilians,” Sybiha said in a post on X, reiterating the call for stronger sanctions against Moscow.

“Russia’s war machine produces hundreds of means of terror per day.

Its scale poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire transatlantic community.” Ruslan Zaparaniuk, the governor of the Chernivetskyi region, said that two people were killed and 14 others wounded as Russian drones and a missile struck the city, located about 40 kilometers from Ukraine’s border with Romania.

Several fires broke out across the city, and residential houses and administrative buildings were damaged, regional officials said.

In the city of Lviv, on Ukraine’s border with Poland, 46 residential houses, a university building, the city’s courts, and about 20 buildings housing small and medium-sized businesses were damaged in the attack, mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.