White House

Officials in Maryland and the U.S. capital Washington will sue President Donald Trump for accepting payments and benefits from foreign governments through his business empire, news reports said late on June 11.

The suit centers on the so-called emoluments clause, which bans U.S. officials from taking gifts or other benefits from foreign governments.

Jeff Sessions, a longtime senator until President Donald Trump picked him as U.S. Attorney General, heads to Congress next week where he could face a grilling about his Russian interactions.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused Qatar of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the U.S. Department of State's efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf
nation by Arab states and others.

AP Photo/ Jae C. Hong

President Donald Trump has attacked Qatar for funding terrorism during a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the White House. Trump took credit for the recent decision by Arab nations to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Despite warnings from all three opposition parties in the Turkish parliament, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has given priority to the ratification of two military agreements with Qatar, allowing to send Turkish troops to the Gulf country, mainly for training purposes, late on June 7.

In a dramatic move this week, eight countries under the leadership of Saudi Arabia cut their diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar. 

While Kuwait has pursued mediation efforts and conveyed Saudi demands to Doha, U.S. President Donald Trump also invited the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the White House to settle the dispute.

Now that the U.S. has finally pushed the button for the long-planned Raqqa operation in Syria to dismantle the so-called caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the genie is out of the bottle.

Former FBI Director James Comey yesterday accused the Trump administration of defaming him and telling lies about the agency, but declined to offer his opinion on whether President Trump sought to obstruct justice by asking him to drop an investigation into the former national security advisor.

Qatar seeks a way out to defeat an escalating pressure from Arab states, insisting that it sees no "military solution" to crisis.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al- Thani told reporters on June 8 in Doha that diplomacy was still Doha's preferred option and there would never be a military solution to the problem.

Gulf Arab states piled pressure on Qatar June 8 as U.S. President Donald Trump, Kuwait's emir and Turkey worked to end a row and resolve what Qataris say amounts to a blockade of their country, an investment powerhouse and supplier of gas to world markets.