President Donald Trump and his officials were the “likely” targets of a suspected gunman who attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has said.

The suspect, named by US media as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was arrested after police said he opened fire near a security checkpoint during the event at a Washington DC hotel on Saturday.

Blanche, speaking to NBC News, said the alleged gunman’s motive is still under investigation, but that “preliminary” findings suggest he was targeting administration officials.

Trump, who was rushed off the stage to safety, told reporters at a briefing after the shooting on Saturday: “I can’t imagine that there’s any profession that’s more dangerous”.

In a statement on Sunday, the White House said Trump “stands fearless” after surviving, alongside cabinet members, “an assassination attempt when shots were fired”.

The White House Correspondents’ Association president, Weijia Jiang, called the attack “harrowing”.
On Sunday, Jiang, who was sat next to Trump at the dinner, thanked the Secret Service for actions which “protected thousands of guests”. She added the board will meet and determine how to proceed, and will release updates when available.

Trump told Fox News that the suspect “had a lot of hatred in his heart for a while”, and said his family knew he had “difficulties”. He added that the suspect had a “manifesto”.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Gary O’Donoghue, Tom Bateman, Regan Morris, Daniela Relph and Joe Pike.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has hailed Moscow and Tehran’s “strategic relationship” as he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on the Iran war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is ready to offer “goodwill or mediation services” in future negotiations between Iran and the US.
It comes after Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by US officials to Pakistan over the weekend for talks on the Iran war, claiming it would be wasting “too much time”.

In Lebanon, strikes continue – over the weekend the country’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed 14 people on Sunday, while Israel’s military says an IDF soldier was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

The Trump administration has reportedly developed what analysts have described as a “naughty and nice” list of its Nato allies — and discussed punishing those it believes have not sufficiently supported the US-Israel war with Iran.

An internal Pentagon email reported by the Reuters news agency suggests that Washington is considering suspending Spain from Nato, and reviewing its support of the UK’s claim to the Falklands islands in the south Atlantic.

BBC News, which has not been able to review the document, has contacted the Pentagon about it. Nato officials have said there is no provision for member states to be suspended or expelled from the alliance.

President Donald Trump has accused Nato members of making a “foolish mistake” by refusing to help the US secure the Strait of Hormuz during the war with Iran.

“We don’t need any help,” he said. “But they should’ve been there.”

We speak to the BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our Youtube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been greeted by US President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump at the White House – at the start of their four day visit to the United States.

It marks the first British state visit to the US since Queen Elizabeth’s trip in 2007. The King’s arrival comes during a period of strained relations between the UK and US over the Iran war. It’s being regarded as the biggest diplomatic challenge of King Charles’s reign.

Buckingham Palace says the programme will go ahead largely as planned, after a gunman attempted to gain access to a dinner event attended by the US President on Saturday.

Fiona Bruce presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Daniela Relph.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

Sex-criminal financier Jeffrey Epstein housed women who say he abused them in several London flats in the years after UK police decided not to investigate him, the BBC has revealed.

Many of them – from Russia, eastern Europe and elsewhere – were brought to the UK after the Metropolitan Police decided not to investigate Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 allegation that she had been a victim of international trafficking to London.

The Met said it followed “reasonable lines of inquiry” at the time, interviewing Giuffre on multiple occasions following her complaint and co-operating with US investigators.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#JeffreyEpstein #London #UK #BBCNews

source