United States WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly cut off a meeting with U.S. congressional Democrats on infrastructure spending, then ripped into them over intensifying investigations by lawmakers and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s accusation that he is engaged in a cover-up. “I don’t do cover-ups,” an agitated Trump told reporters at a previously unscheduled White House appearance afterward, as he unleashed a litany of gripes about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and follow-up inquiries by congressional Democrats that the Republican...…United States WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly cut off a meeting with U.S. congressional Democrats on infrastructure spending, then ripped into them over intensifying investigations by lawmakers and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s accusation that he is engaged in a cover-up. “I don’t do cover-ups,” an agitated Trump told reporters at a previously unscheduled White House appearance afterward, as he unleashed a litany of gripes about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and follow-up inquiries by congressional Democrats that the Republican...WW…

United States ROME (Reuters) - Accounts tagged ‘hatetrump’ and ‘ihatetrump’ are part of a coordinated campaign to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump that has emerged on social media site Instagram, an independent study has revealed. The photo-sharing app Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said it was investigating the report and had already removed some of the profiles it highlighted. Malign online attacks against Trump’s opponents have been well documented, most notably in the 2016 presidential election campaign, when Russian trolls allegedly flooded social media sites to undermine...…United States ROME (Reuters) - Accounts tagged ‘hatetrump’ and ‘ihatetrump’ are part of a coordinated campaign to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump that has emerged on social media site Instagram, an independent study has revealed. The photo-sharing app Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said it was investigating the report and had already removed some of the profiles it highlighted. Malign online attacks against Trump’s opponents have been well documented, most notably in the 2016 presidential election campaign, when Russian trolls allegedly flooded social media sites to undermine...WW…

Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant set sail on Friday from the Arctic port of Murmansk to provide power to one of the country’s most remote regions, sparking environmental concerns. Developed by the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, the plant, known as “Akademik Lomonosov”, set off on a 5,000 km (3,100 mile) journey through Arctic waters to reach the Chukotka region, which lies across the Bering Strait from Alaska. The plant, loaded with nuclear fuel, will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant supplying more than 50,000 people with electricity in...…Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant set sail on Friday from the Arctic port of Murmansk to provide power to one of the country’s most remote regions, sparking environmental concerns. Developed by the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, the plant, known as “Akademik Lomonosov”, set off on a 5,000 km (3,100 mile) journey through Arctic waters to reach the Chukotka region, which lies across the Bering Strait from Alaska. The plant, loaded with nuclear fuel, will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant supplying more than 50,000 people with electricity in...WW…

In mid-October, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani met with his Iraqi Shi’ite militia allies at a villa on the banks of the Tigris River, looking across at the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. The Revolutionary Guards commander instructed his top ally in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and other powerful militia leaders to step up attacks on U.S. targets in the country using sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran, two militia commanders and two security sources briefed on the gathering told Reuters. The strategy session, which has not been previously reported, came as mass protests...…In mid-October, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani met with his Iraqi Shi’ite militia allies at a villa on the banks of the Tigris River, looking across at the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. The Revolutionary Guards commander instructed his top ally in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and other powerful militia leaders to step up attacks on U.S. targets in the country using sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran, two militia commanders and two security sources briefed on the gathering told Reuters. The strategy session, which has not been previously reported, came as mass protests...WW…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court handed a setback to the Trump administration on Thursday by making it harder for the government to strip immigrants of U.S. citizenship in a case involving an ethnic Serb woman who lied about her husband’s military service after Yugoslavia’s collapse. The justices ruled 9-0 that a naturalized American citizen cannot be stripped of citizenship if a lie or omission on immigration forms was irrelevant to the government’s original decision to grant entry into the United States. They rejected the Trump administration’s stance that the government should be...…WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court handed a setback to the Trump administration on Thursday by making it harder for the government to strip immigrants of U.S. citizenship in a case involving an ethnic Serb woman who lied about her husband’s military service after Yugoslavia’s collapse. The justices ruled 9-0 that a naturalized American citizen cannot be stripped of citizenship if a lie or omission on immigration forms was irrelevant to the government’s original decision to grant entry into the United States. They rejected the Trump administration’s stance that the government should be...WW…

United Kingdom UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea has generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using “widespread and increasingly sophisticated” cyberattacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday. Pyongyang also “continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programmes although it did not conduct a nuclear test or ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) launch,” said the report to the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee by independent experts monitoring...…United Kingdom UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea has generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using “widespread and increasingly sophisticated” cyberattacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday. Pyongyang also “continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programmes although it did not conduct a nuclear test or ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) launch,” said the report to the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee by independent experts monitoring...WW…

Myanmar’s Miss Universe contestant, Thuzar Wint Lwin, used the pageant on Sunday to urge the world to speak out against the military junta, whose security forces have killed hundreds of opponents since it seized power in a Feb. 1 coup. "Our people are dying and being shot by the military every day," she said in a video message for the competition, where she was appearing in the finals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. "I would like to urge everyone to speak about Myanmar. As Miss Universe Myanmar since the coup, I have been speaking out as much as I can," she...…Myanmar’s Miss Universe contestant, Thuzar Wint Lwin, used the pageant on Sunday to urge the world to speak out against the military junta, whose security forces have killed hundreds of opponents since it seized power in a Feb. 1 coup. "Our people are dying and being shot by the military every day," she said in a video message for the competition, where she was appearing in the finals at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. "I would like to urge everyone to speak about Myanmar. As Miss Universe Myanmar since the coup, I have been speaking out as much as I can," she...WW…

(Reuters) - The University of California will soon be granted a potentially valuable patent on the revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, according to a document filed by the U.S. patent office on Friday. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision to grant the patent could further fuel a long-running rivalry between the university and the Broad Institute, a biological and genomic research center affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University that also holds patents on CRISPR. Patent rights to CRISPR could eventually be worth...…(Reuters) - The University of California will soon be granted a potentially valuable patent on the revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, according to a document filed by the U.S. patent office on Friday. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision to grant the patent could further fuel a long-running rivalry between the university and the Broad Institute, a biological and genomic research center affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University that also holds patents on CRISPR. Patent rights to CRISPR could eventually be worth...WW…

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An elderly man suffering Parkinson’s Disease and dementia was given 10 times his medication and had unexplained bruising when he died at an Australian aged care facility, his widow told an inquiry into the A$20 billion ($14 billion) aged care sector. A Royal Commission inquiry into Australia’s aged care industry began hearings on Monday, after a slew of reports of dementia patients being bound in restraints, assaults on patients, overdosing, predatory pricing and poor care. The inquiry’s first witness Barbara Spriggs, whose husband died in 2016 at the Oakden Older Persons...…SYDNEY (Reuters) - An elderly man suffering Parkinson’s Disease and dementia was given 10 times his medication and had unexplained bruising when he died at an Australian aged care facility, his widow told an inquiry into the A$20 billion ($14 billion) aged care sector. A Royal Commission inquiry into Australia’s aged care industry began hearings on Monday, after a slew of reports of dementia patients being bound in restraints, assaults on patients, overdosing, predatory pricing and poor care. The inquiry’s first witness Barbara Spriggs, whose husband died in 2016 at the Oakden Older Persons...WW…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Dingell, a gruff Michigan Democrat who entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955 to finish his late father’s term and became a legislative heavyweight and longest-serving member of Congress, died on Thursday. He was 92. The former lawmaker’s wife, Debbie Dingell, who was elected to succeed him, was with him when he died peacefully at home in Michigan, her office said. “He was a lion of the United States Congress and a loving son, father, husband, grandfather, and friend. He will be remembered for his decades of public service to the people of Southeast...…WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Dingell, a gruff Michigan Democrat who entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955 to finish his late father’s term and became a legislative heavyweight and longest-serving member of Congress, died on Thursday. He was 92. The former lawmaker’s wife, Debbie Dingell, who was elected to succeed him, was with him when he died peacefully at home in Michigan, her office said. “He was a lion of the United States Congress and a loving son, father, husband, grandfather, and friend. He will be remembered for his decades of public service to the people of Southeast...WW…