Trump's lawyer paid $130,000 of own money to porn star
Updated 0456 GMT (1256 HKT) February 14, 2018
President Donald Trump's personal lawyer said Tuesday that he paid $130,000 of his own money to a porn star who allegedly had a sexual encounter with the President before his time in office.
"In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford," Michael Cohen said in a statement. "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly."
Just weeks before the 2016 election, Cohen reportedly created a private LLC to pay Clifford, otherwise known as Stormy Daniels, following an alleged July 2006 encounter with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported in January.
Gupta family targeted in South African police raid
Arrests made in raid linked to allegations of influence-peddling, as ANC’s efforts to oust Zuma continue
An elite South African police team has raided the luxurious family home of a family of controversial businessmen accused of improper relations with Jacob Zuma, as the ruling ANC party continues its chaotic efforts to oust the country’s president.
The raid on the compound of the wealthy Gupta family in Johannesburg will be taken as an encouraging sign that Cyril Ramaphosa, the new leader of the African National Congress (ANC), will move swiftly against those associated with the corruption allegations and mismanagement that have characterised Zuma’s nine years in power.
Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the police unit known as the Hawks, said the raid was part of an investigation into allegations of influence-peddling in the government.
Ahed Tamimi: Who is Palestinian teenage protester and why is she being detained?
The 17-year-old has become a resistance symbol since her arrest for slapping two Israeli soldiers in December. After another delay in her trial, international outcry at her detention is growing
There has been international outcry at a further delay in the military trial of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi, who was arrested in December for kicking and slapping two Israeli soldiers.
The 17-year-old arrived at court on Tuesday appearing calm, smiling and flashing the 'V for victory' sign at photographers.
However, all observers were soon kicked out of the courtroom after the judge ordered a closed hearing, and proceedings have been pushed back to next month.
She remains in custody at Ofer prison near Ramallah.
How Deniz Yücel's year in prison affects German-Turkish relations
There's rarely a discussion about German-Turkish relations in which Deniz Yücel's name does not come up. The imprisoned journalist has been effectively held hostage by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a year in Turkey.
Deniz Yücel was working as a correspondent in Turkey for the German daily newspaper Die Welt when he was taken into custody by police in Istanbul on February 14, 2017. An arrest warrant was issued a short time later. By March, the 43-year-old, who has German and Turkish passports, was transferred to Istanbul's maximum-security Silivri prison and courts complex. Many press and rights advocates consider him a hostage of Turkey's government.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel again called for Yücel's release saying the journalist's imprisonment "continued to be one of the big hurdles in bilateral relations between Germany and Turkey."
"Just as before we are directing talks towards a fast and just procedure," he added. "In our eyes, the release of Deniz Yücel can be the only goal."
Japan took in 20 asylum seekers in 2017 from nearly 20,000 applications
The number of asylum seekers in Japan grew 80 percent to a record 19,628 in 2017 - but only 20 were accepted, the government said on Tuesday.
Immigration is a controversial subject in Japan, where many pride themselves on cultural and ethnic homogeneity, even as the population ages and its workforce shrinks.
Although a major donor to international aid organisations, Japan has been reluctant to relax asylum policies or allow in migrant blue-collar workers.
The number of people seeking refugee status had been on the rise in recent years as people took advantage of a system that allowed applicants with valid visas to work while their refugee claims were reviewed, the justice ministry said.
REPUBLICAN SCARE-MONGERING ON “SANCTUARY CITIES” BACKFIRES, DEMOCRATS WIN BIG UPSET IN FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTION
IN A SPECIAL election on Tuesday, Florida’s Republicans took a page from Ed Gillespie’s playbook and deployed the threat of “sanctuary cities” to scare up the votes to win.
And, as it did in Virginia, the book ended the same way, with Republicans losing at the polls. Democrat Margaret Good beat Republican James Buchanan, son of Rep. Vern Buchanan, 52-45 percent, after Trump had carried the Sarasota district a year ago.
After weeks of dodging forums with the other candidates, Buchanan raised the sanctuary issue in a debate with Good and libertarian Alison Foxall in late January. “I do think as far as sanctuary cities are concerned, we should not have any sanctuary cities here in the state of Florida,” he said. “We shouldn’t be harboring illegal immigrants.”
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