America

    A former British spy reportedly tipped off US intelligence that Russian operatives are claiming to have compiled compromising information about Donald Trump, it emerged on Tuesday night. The claims that Russia has potentially damaging information about Mr Trump were included in an addendum to a top secret report presented last week to the president-elect and to President Barack Obama, according to CNN. According to the report, the British source informed the US that Russian operatives were claiming to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr Trump. The FBI is now investigating the veracity of the Russian claims. While intelligence sources told CNN they consider the former British agent’s past work credible, doubts were raised after Buzzfeed News publis...

    Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump and one of his closest confidants, will join the White House as a senior adviser to the president, Trump announced Monday, while a lawyer assisting the family said that Kushner's wife, Ivanka Trump, will not immediately take on a formal role. Kushner, who will not take a salary, is expected to have a broad portfolio that includes government operations, trade deals and Middle East policy, according to a member of Trump's transition team. In a statement, the transition office said Kushner would work closely with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon to execute Trump’s agenda. Trump relied heavily on Kushner's advice during the campaign, and his move to the White House was...

    Donald Trump is a one-man basket of deplorables. He is a braggart and a liar. He is a bully and a demagogue. He is an ignoramus and a deadbeat, a chiseler and either a sincere racist or an insincere one, and his love for himself is matched only by my loathing of him. He is about to be president of the United States. A constitutional coup may be in the offing. Since winning the election, Trump has not moderated his behavior. He still behaves like a brat his childish tweet zinging Arnold Schwarzenegger for failing to get Trumpian ratings on “The New Celebrity Apprentice” being the most amusing example. Many of the others were just plain lies, the most serious being his earlier troubling statements regarding Russian efforts to affect the election. As always, Trump made this a...

    Author Monica Crowley, the US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for a top national security communications role, has been accused of plagiarising large sections of her 2012 book. According to CNN, the review of Crowley’s June 2012 book, What The (Bleep) Just Happened, found upwards of 50 examples of plagiarism from numerous sources including copying with minor changes of news articles, other columnists, think tanks and Wikipedia. The New York Times bestseller contains no notes or bibliography. Crowley, a syndicated radio host, columnist and, until recently, a Fox News contributor, will serve as Trump’s senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. Trump’s transition team is standing by Crowley, the report said. ‘Monica’s exceptional insig...

    The report found that a multifaceted Russian campaign, going beyond the high-profile data breaches, included state-owned media and social media campaigns. Russian president Vladimir Putin interfered in the US presidential election to aid Donald Trump, according to a declassified assessment by the NSA, CIA and FBI. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump, the agencies found in a long-awaited report that stands to hang over the head of the incoming Trump administration. The report (pdf), for weeks the subject of leaks that have incensed and vexed...

    The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks, mutual funds and other financial institutions, broadening the tangle of interests that pose potential conflicts for the incoming president’s administration. Hundreds of millions of dollars of debt attached to Mr. Trump’s properties, some of them backed by Mr. Trump’s personal guarantee, were packaged into securities and sold to investors over the past five years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of legal and property documents. Mr. Trump has previously disclosed that his businesses owe at least $315 million to 10 companies. According to the Journal’s analysis, Trump businesses’ debts are held by more than 150 institutions. They bought the debt after it was sliced...

শীর্ষবিন্দু আন্তর্জাতিক নিউজ ডেস্ক: যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নির্বাচনে ডেমক্রেট ন্যাশনাল কমিটি সহ বিভিন্ন টার্গেটে রাশিয়ার হ্যাকিংয়ের কথা অবশেষে স্বীকার করলেন প্রেসিডেন্ট নির্বাচিত ডনাল্ড ট্রাম্প। দেশের শীর্ষ গোয়েন্দা প্রধানদের সঙ্গে দুই ঘন্টারও বেশি সময় বৈঠকের পর তিনি এমনটা স্বীকার করলেন। শুক্রবার ওই বৈঠক অনুষ্ঠিত হয়। হ্যাকিংয়ের কথা স্বীকার করলেও তাতে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নির্বাচনের ফলাফলের ওপর কোনো প্রভাব পড়েছে বলে মনে করেন না তিনি। গোয়েন্দা প্রধান ও আইন প্রয়োগকারী সংস্থার কর্মকর্তারা ওই বৈঠকে রাশিয়ার হ্যাকিং বিষয়ে ট্রাম্পকে ব্রিফ করেন। এরপর ট্রাম্পের পক্ষ থেকে একটি বিবৃতি দেয়া হয়। তাতে তিনি বলেছেন রাশিয়া, চীন, অন্য কোনো দেশ, বাইরের কোনো গ্রুপ ও লোক অব্যাহতভাবে আমাদের দেশের সরকারি প্রতিষ্ঠান, ব্যবসায় সংগঠন, ডেমোক্রেট ন্যাশনাল কমিটি সহ বিভিন্ন সংগঠনে সাইবার হামলা চালাচ্ছে। তবে তাতে নির্বাচনের ফলের ওপর কো...

    Prince Harry has met his girlfriend Meghan Markle’s father, who is said to be proud of the relationship, according to reports. The actress’s older brother revealed the meeting between the 32-year-old royal and Thomas Markle, a 72-year-old former lighting director, took place during one of Harry’s visits to Toronto, Canada. Thomas Markle Jr told DailyMail.com: “My dad knew about (the relationship) from the start. He first met Prince Harry about six months ago out in Toronto. He goes once every couple of months (Meghan and Thomas Markle Sr) are very close and they stay in close contact. He’s pretty happy about Harry and he’s extremely proud of her. They have an amazing relationship, they’re very close and they always have been. However Mr Markle said he was not sure whether ...

    Donald Trump should have more respect for intelligence professionals, according to the vice president of the US Intelligence Committee. Senator Mark Warner made the claim after the President-elect suggested on Twitter that an intelligence briefing with him had been delayed because spy chiefs perhaps needed more time. to build a case on Russia’s alleged electoral hacking.  Trump added that it was very strange that the group of highly senior intelligence officials pushed the meeting back until Friday.  Taking to the social media site to respond, Mr Warner said he really wished we saw more PEOTUS (President-elect of the United States) respect for our intelligence professionals.  US government sources have also claimed that the meeting was always scheduled for Friday, adding t...

    Donald Trump has insisted North Korea will not develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the US. The President-elect addressed the issue on Monday evening on Twitter. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had hinted that his country would test an intercontinental ballistic missile in the new year. Mr Trump tweeted: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" It was unclear if Trump meant he would stop North Korea or he was simply doubting the country's capabilities. His aides did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification. Also on Twitter, Mr Trump then berated North Korea's most important ally, tweeting: "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & ...