Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House
Exclusive: Documents suggest Russia launched secret multi-agency effort to interfere in US democracy
Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia’s national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents.
The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, his spy chiefs and senior ministers all present.
They agreed a Trump White House would help secure Moscow’s strategic objectives, among them “social turmoil” in the US and a weakening of the American president’s negotiating position.
At least 40 dead after floods in Germany, several missing — live updates
At least 40 people have died and many more are missing as western Germany contends with the effects of massive flooding.
At least 42 people have died in parts of western Germany amid heavy rains and flooding, local police said on Thursday. Most of the deaths have been reported in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The flooding has heavily impacted transport in the region, which lies near the borders to Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Weather forecasters say more rain is expected in the coming days.
Lebanon's PM-designate Hariri abandons effort to form new government
Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his effort to form a new government on Thursday, saying it was clear he would not be able to reach an agreement with President Michel Aoun, plunging the country deeper into crisis.
Lebanon is suffering an economic depression the World Bank has described as one of the most severe in modern history. Its currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years, leading to spiraling poverty and crippling shortages.
"It is clear we will not be able to agree with his Excellency the president," Hariri told reporters after meeting Aoun for barely 20 minutes. "That is why I excuse myself from government formation."
IOC's Bach brings attention to Hiroshima — some of it unwanted
By STEPHEN WADE
Many residents of Hiroshima welcome attention from abroad, which IOC President Thomas Bach will bring when he visits on Friday. The city has been in the forefront of the world peace movement and a campaigner for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
But Bach will also bring political baggage - as will his vice president John Coates when he visits Nagasaki the same day - that is largely unwelcome in two cities viewed as sacred by many Japanese.
Bach and Coates are using the backdrop of the cities, hit with atomic bombs by the United States in 1945, to promote the first day of the so-called Olympic Truce, a tradition from ancient Greece that was revived by a United Nations resolution in 1993. They will also be signaling the start of the Tokyo Olympics in one week. The Games are going ahead during the pandemic despite persistent opposition in Japan from the general public and the medical community.
South Africa calls up army reserves to halt unrest
Looting and violence engulfing South Africa for days ebb ahead of an expected surge in soldiers on the streets.
South Africa mustered its army reserves in a bid to quell several days of looting that has ravaged supplies of food and other essentials and dealt a crippling blow to its economy.
The disorder slowly began to ebb across most affected provinces on Thursday before an expected surge in soldiers on the streets.
“All reserve members are to report for duty at first light tomorrow morning 15 July 2021 at their respective units,” army chief Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha said in orders issued overnight as the unrest entered its sixth day.
'Reichstag moment': Joint Chiefs chairman feared Trump was laying groundwork for coup
The highest-ranking U.S. officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and other top military leaders made informal plans to stop a coup by former President Donald Trump and his allies in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, according to excerpts from a new book
"I Alone Can Fix It," written by Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, describes how Milley and others feared Trump might take unconstitutional actions should he lose. CNN first reported on this excerpt.
The top brass was so disturbed by Trump's rhetoric casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election before it was held that the leaders discussed contingency plans for how to thwart any illegal power grabs by the president, including how and when to resign in protest over his actions.
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