Xi-Trump summit: US, Chinese leaders in Florida for talks as trade, North Korea issues loom
US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Florida retreat for face-to-face meetings where Trump will raise concerns that Beijing should rein in its trade practices and do more to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan drove down a palm-lined driveway past a military honour guard to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. They posed for pictures with Trump and his wife Melania before going inside.
The leaders of the world's two biggest economies were expected to spend some private time together before a dinner with their wives and others, kicking off a summit dominated by trade and foreign policy issues that is set to conclude with a working lunch on Friday.
Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to stop what he called the theft of American jobs by China and rebuild the country's manufacturing base. Many blue-collar workers helped propel him to his unexpected election victory on Nov 8 and Trump wants to deliver for them.
US Vice-President Mike Pence to visit Asia-Pacific in April
US Vice-President Mike Pence will be visiting Asia-Pacific later this month, touching base with South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia.
The trip will run from April 15-25, 2017, and will also include Hawaii.
During his trip, the Vice-President will emphasise US President Donald Trump's continued commitment to US alliances and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, highlight his administration's economic agenda, and underscore America's unwavering support for our troops at home and abroad, said a White House statement.
Man throws flour all over French presidential candidate Francois Fillon
French rightwing presidential candidate Francois Fillon was hit in the face with flour by a young man at a campaign event.
Fillon, 63, has faced protests in recent weeks since he was charged over accusations he gave his wife a fake parliamentary job for which she was paid hundreds of thousands of euros.
The former prime minister was making his way to the stage in a hall in the eastern city of Strasbourg when a shaven-headed man in a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Students for Fillon" emptied a packet of flour on his face and down his suit. Security guards wrestled the man to the floor and one of the guards tore off the T-shirt.
Twitter refuses US order to disclose user behind anti-Trump account
Twitter refused to reveal the user behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies and said it was challenging the demand for records by the US government in court, according to a lawsuit.
The lawsuit over the account @ALT-uscis, claimed to be run by at least one federal immigration employee, was filed in federal court in San Francisco, where Twitter is based.
The acronym CIS refers to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the account's description refers to itself as "immigration resistance."
Golf: World number one Johnson pulls out of US Masters
World number one Dustin Johnson pulled out of the US Masters after sustaining a back injury in a freak fall, leaving the year's first major without the red-hot favourite.
The American, heavily fancied to win the title after victories in his last three tournaments, slipped on stairs in his rental house on Wednesday sparking immediate speculation he would not be able to play.
The guessing game continued right up until the moment Johnson appeared on the first tee with the other members of his group, Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker, and then walked away without taking a shot.
