WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Friday he wants to use the G7 summit to resolve what he called unfair trade deals with US allies."Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7 countries. If it doesn't happen, we come out even better!," Trump wrote as part of a blast of early morning tweets ahead of the meeting Friday and Saturday in Canada.America's closest allies are bracing for a showdown with Trump at the G7 summit, as anger at being slapped with trade tariffs

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he is “very well-prepared” for a historic and potentially fraught summit with Kim Jong-un in five days, while hinting at the signing of a peace treaty and even a future White House visit by the North Korean dictator.Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington, Trump tried to quell concerns about his lack of diplomatic or foreign policy experience heading into the high-stakes talks.“I’m very well prepared. I don’t think I have

GENEVA  -- A top UN rights expert called Thursday for North Korea to begin freeing prisoners under a “general amnesty” ahead of next week’s historic nuclear summit.Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, called on Pyongyang to “issue a general amnesty to release hundreds of prisoners.”He hailed North Korea’s recent release of three US prisoners, and urged the country to broaden its “amnesty” to anyone being arbitrarily detained there, which he said was ba

A top UN rights expert called Thursday for North Korea to begin freeing prisoners under a "general amnesty" ahead of next week's historic nuclear summit.Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, called on Pyongyang to "issue a general amnesty to release hundreds of prisoners".He hailed North Korea's recent release of three US prisoners, and urged the country to broaden its "amnesty" to anyone being arbitrarily detained there, which he said was basically all

HONG KONG -- As the world awaits the historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, one man who has risen to prominence for his impressions of the North Korean leader is preparing for his own appearance in Singapore.The Hong Kong-based Kim impersonator, who goes by the name Howard X, will take part in an alternative summit on the sidelines of the meeting between the US president and Kim, scheduled for Tuesday. Kim Jong-un impersonator, who goes by the name Howard X, waves outside a buildi

When US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sit down in Singapore next week it will be among the most improbable diplomatic summits in history, with principals who could not be more different -- but who also share some surprising similarities.Trump was the oldest US president ever to take office when he was sworn in last year, and will turn 72 two days after the meeting.The North Korean leader is still in his mid-thirties and remains among the youngest heads of government

NEW YORK -- Designer Kate Spade, one of the biggest names in American fashion especially known for her sleek handbags, was found dead Tuesday in her New York apartment after committing suicide. She was 55.A police spokeswoman confirmed Spade had killed herself but told AFP the exact circumstances of her death were not yet clear.A source close to the investigation said she hanged herself in her Park Avenue apartment and left a suicide note.Spade's family said in a statement that they were "devast

A powerful explosion sparked a mass evacuation Tuesday of areas already devastated near Guatemala's Fuego volcano, which officials said has killed at least 73 people since it first erupted over the weekend.Seven communities were evacuated as the volcano's activity increased, with rescue operations halted.In the city of Escuintla, near the summit, panicked locals rushed to their cars to escape, causing chaotic traffic.An AFP photographer witnessed a large plume of ash rise into the sky, prompting

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang’s state media reported Sunday, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country.“I am going to visit the DPRK and meet ... Kim Jong-un,” Assad said, the North’s state-run KCNA news agency reported, using the abbreviated version of the country’s official name. The announcement came as anticipation mounts for a historic nuclear summit between Kim and US President

Hollywood actor Benedict Cumberbatch channelled his inner Sherlock Holmes by leaping to the defence of a cyclist under attack by four men, according to reports.The 41-year-old -- famous for playing Sherlock in the BBC detective series and superhero Doctor Strange -- jumped from a car to rescue a food delivery rider working for Deliveroo, according to tabloid The Sun over the weekend. Hollywood actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars in the new movie "Avengers: Infinity War," poses for a photo duri

A US millionaire is to appear in court on Friday charged in the murder of a man recruited to build tunnels at his home near the US capital for protection against North Korea, reports say.Daniel Beckwitt, a conspiracy theorist and millionaire stock trader, has posted a $100,000 bond and will be released from detention on Monday morning, WRC-TV said. An undated handout photo made available by the Montgomery County Police on 02 June 2018 shows a booking photo of Bethesda man Daniel Lewis Beckwitt,

While the link between smoking and a range of cancers is well known, the World Health Organization warned Thursday there was too little awareness of tobacco's impact on the human heart.On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day Thursday, the UN health agency hailed that smoking had declined significantly since year 2000, but warned that there were still far too many people indulging in the dangerous habit.And it cautioned that research showed there was "a serious lack of knowledge" about the differ

Kim Jong Un's right-hand man began talks with President Donald Trump's top diplomat on Wednesday amid a scramble to organize next month's historic nuclear summit between the North Korean and US leaders.Kim Yong Chol, a veteran Pyongyang power player and a member of the young autocrat's inner circle, flew in on an Air China flight from Beijing, becoming the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years.Dialogue between the two sides began with a dinner meeting held in a

Kim Jong-un believes a summit with US President Donald Trump will be a landmark opportunity to end decades of confrontation, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said Sunday following his surprise meeting with the North Korean leader.“He (Kim) also expressed his intention to put an end to the history of war and confrontation through the success of the North-US summit and to cooperate for peace and prosperity,” Moon told reporters, adding both he and Kim agreed to meet or talk in person “if necess

One day after abruptly pulling the plug on a high-stakes summit with North Korea, US President Donald Trump said Friday the meeting with Kim Jong Un could go ahead after all -- and would "likely" happen on the originally scheduled date of June 12.   The summit would be an unprecedented meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, which Washington hopes will result in the full denuclearization of the reclusive state.   Trump said in a tweet that "very productive talks" were o

At least 16 people were  killed and 38 wounded Tuesday when a minivan packed with explosives detonated  as security forces were trying to defuse it in southern Afghanistan, officials said.(AP-Yonhap)Security forces in Kandahar had already cleared the area around a bus  station where the van was found, provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi  said. "As the security forces were trying to defuse the van, it detonated," said  police spokesman Mohammad Qasim Azad."The latest figures show 16 dead an

The White House is "still hopeful" the summit between North Korea's Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump will proceed despite Pyongyang's threat to cancel it, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Wednesday."We're still hopeful that the meeting will take place and we'll continue down that path," Sanders told Fox News. "At the same time ... we've been prepared that these might be tough negotiations." (AFP) White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders arrives for a Senate Republican policy lunch at the US

China called  Wednesday for North Korea and the United States to go ahead with their historic summit as planned after Pyongyang threatened to pull out of the scheduled meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.The North also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul because of US-South Korean military air exercises, denouncing the drills as a "rude and wicked provocation"."The situation on the peninsula has eased up, which is worth cherishing," Chinese foreign ministry spo

At least two people were killed and 13 others injured in bomb attacks, including a suicide blast, targeting churches in Indonesia's second biggest city Surabaya, police said Sunday, the latest assault on a religious minority in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country."There have been three attacks at three churches," East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said.The deadly blasts all occurred within 10 minutes of each other, police said, with the first explosion at 7.30 am (0030 GMT).

Can a hamburger or steak be labeled "meat" if it is plant-based? That question has sparked a debate about US food labels as key US cattle industry players have sought to crack down on marketing of proteins made from soy and other plant-based substances. Jessica Almy, policy director of the non-profit Good Food Institute, which promotes meat-alternatives, said labels must state clearly if a product is made from soy or another plant, but they usually make sense in context. "Regardless of