Trump accuses China of 2018 election meddling
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China of seeking to meddle in the Nov 6 US congressional elections, saying Beijing did not want his Republican Party to do well because of his pugnacious stance on trade.
"China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November. Against my administration," Trump told a UN Security Council meeting whose ostensible subject was nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Trump, chairing the Council for the first time since becoming US president, did not provide any evidence for his allegation, which China immediately rejected during the same meeting.
"We did not and will not interfere in any country's domestic affairs. We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China," China's top diplomat Wang Yi told the Council.
New accuser says she witnessed sexual abuses by Brett Kavanaugh
A new woman came forward on Wednesday with explosive revelations about Brett Kavanaugh, saying she witnessed sexually abusive behaviour by the Supreme Court nominee and claiming that she was gang-raped at a party he attended in the early 1980s.
Lawyer Michael Avenatti sent the allegations made by his client, Julie Swetnick, to the Senate Judiciary Committee conducting Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing and demanded an FBI investigation into the claims.
The Senate committee is scheduled to hear testimony on Thursday from another woman who accuses Kavanaugh of sexual assault and conduct a vote on his nomination on Friday but the latest revelations threaten to derail the already turbulent process.
Melania will visit four African countries on first major trip without Trump
Melania Trump plans to visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, and Egypt when she travels to Africa next week on her first major solo international trip as first lady.
The one-week trip, which begins on Monday, will take her to a part of the world that has a tense relationship with her husband's administration.
But her visit is more fraught than those of her predecessors. During a meeting with lawmakers in January, President Donald Trump referred to Haiti and some African nations as "s***hole countries" during a discussion of a proposed bipartisan immigration deal, according to officials who were there.He later denied using such language.
US Fed raises interest rates
The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and left intact its plans to steadily tighten monetary policy, as it forecast that the US economy would enjoy at least three more years of growth.
In a statement that marked the end of the era of "accommodative" monetary policy, Fed policymakers lifted the benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 2 per cent to 2.25 per cent.
The US central bank still foresees another rate hike in December, three more next year, and one increase in 2020.
Football: Hazard gem caps Chelsea fightback, Spurs survive shoot-out
Eden Hazard's majestic solo strike capped a thrilling Chelsea fightback in their 2-1 win at Liverpool, while Tottenham survived a penalty shoot-out to beat Watford in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.
Arsenal advanced to the last 16 with a 3-1 win over Championship side Brentford, while West Ham demolished fourth-tier Macclesfield in an 8-0 rout that ranked as their biggest victory for 35 years.
But it was the drama at Anfield that stole the spotlight as Chelsea became the first team to stop Liverpool winning this season.
