Obama vows severe action against Russia over election interference

US President Barack Obama has vowed to take action against Russia for its alleged interference in the US presidential election campaign.

"We need to take action and we will," he told US radio station NPR.

Russia stands accused by the US of hacking the emails of the Democratic Party and a key Hillary Clinton aide, which the Kremlin strongly denies.

Republican president-elect Donald Trump has also dismissed the claim as "ridiculous" and politically motivated.


The intelligence agencies say they have overwhelming evidence that Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin were behind the hacks.

And on Thursday, a White House spokesman said President Vladimir Putin was involved in the cyber-attacks.

Hours later, Mr Obama said: "I think there's no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact on the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action and we will, at a time and a place of our own choosing.

"Some of it may be explicit and publicised. Some of it may not be.

"Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."

It is not clear what action the US intends to take, with Mr Obama leaving office on 20 January.

The disclosure of emails was embarrassing to the Democratic Party at a crucial point in the election campaign.

The CIA has concluded that Russia's motivation was to sway the election in favour of Mr Trump, but no evidence has been made public.

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Iran's president: Trump unable to tear up Nuclear deal

Iran's president has said his country will not allow President-elect Donald Trump to "tear up" the country's landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

Hassan Rouhani also warned that Tehran will react to any extension of American sanctions.

The comments came during a speech at the University of Tehran commemorating the killings of Iranian students protesting against a visit by then-US vice-president Richard Nixon in 1953.

Mr Rouhani's remarks highlight the situation he faces after Mr Trump's inauguration in trying to defend the deal struck by his moderate administration.

The timing - during an annual remembrance of the killing of students at the hands of the US-backed Shah Reza Pahlavi's security forces - also shows the internal challenges he faces from hard-liners already suspicious of America's intentions.

"The US is our enemy," Mr Rouhani said. "They want to put pressure on us as much as they can."

Mr Rouhani never mentioned Mr Trump by name in his speech, though he prefaced his remarks with noting that "some man... elected in the US".

"Whatever plans he has, it will be revealed later," Mr Rouhani said. "He may desire to weaken the nuclear deal. He may desire to rip up the deal. Do you suppose we will allow this? Will our nation allow this?"

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump called the multi-nation deal "catastrophic" and vowed to renegotiate it, without explaining how.

Mr Rouhani also warned Iran "will show a reaction" if outgoing president Barack Obama signs a law extending some of America's sanctions authority by 10 years.

The law, first passed by Congress in 1996 and renewed several times since then, allows the US to sanction companies for doing business with Iran.

Mr Rouhani has described extending the sanctions as a violation of the nuclear deal.

The White House deemed the bill unnecessary but said it did not violate the international accord.

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North Korea 'hacks South's military cyber command'

A spokesman told the BBC that classified information was thought to have been stolen, although it is not clear exactly what data was accessed.

The North has previously been accused of hacking into banks and media outlets but never the South's military.

Pyongyang has in the past rejected allegations of cyber crime involvement.

"It seems the intranet server of the cyber command has been contaminated with malware. We found that some military documents, including confidential information, have been hacked," a military spokesman told South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

It is not clear whether low-grade documents or more important details like war plans were accessed.

The military said that the compromised section of its network was isolated once the attack was detected.

North Korea is believed to have thousands of personnel involved in cyberwarfare.

Since 2010 they have been focusing on application programming interfaces (APIs), which can be designed to attack national infrastructures, North Korean defector and computer science professor Kim Heung-Kwang told the BBC.

The North has a track record of alleged cyber attacks in recent years against South Korean government agencies, banks and media companies.

An apparent concerted campaign involving the planting of malicious code began in 2014, Reuters news agency quoted police as saying.

It was aimed at laying the groundwork for an attack on a massive scale, the agency said.

The campaign was discovered in February this year after defence-related material including blueprints for the wings of F-15 fighter jets was stolen.

Some 140,000 computers at 160 companies were attacked up until this June, according to police.

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WW3 will start in Latvia - Expert reveals

Donald Trump could face a potential third world war if the US comes to the rescue of Baltic countries trying to escape from Russia’s clutches, an influential military expert has warned.

NATO members including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were quick to congratulate the new President-elect following his victory earlier this month, as the Baltic nations nervously waited to find
out whether he would stop bankrolling their defence against Russia.

The US had been protecting the countries from any attack launched by Vladimir Putin amid heightened concern the maverick leader had plans to invade and restore them to Soviet control.


He also successfully foretold of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, which has now been ongoing for more than two years and eight months.

And now the professor believes Latvia could be next on Russia’s hit list - sparking a deadly conflict that will test the limits of conventional war fare.

He claims if Putin was to invade the country - which has a population of just two million people - he would do so by sparking civil unrest among ethnic Russians, who make up 25 per cent of the country.

Professor Miller said: “He will not send large formations of uniformed Russian soldiers over the international border even the most cautious NATO members will not ignore an overt conventional invasion.

“Instead, Putin will instigate an ambiguous militarised crisis using deniable proxies, probably in the next
two years.

“Perhaps Russian-speaking Latvians or Estonians will begin rioting, protesting for their rights, claiming to be persecuted, asking for “international protection.


“A suspiciously well armed and well trained ‘Popular Front for the Liberation of the Russian Baltics’ will appear.

“A few high-profile assassinations and bombings bring the Baltics to the edge of civil war. A low-grade insurgency may emerge.”

The underhand technique, which normally aims to create a climax that then justifies military intervention, is said to have been used to seize Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Tensions among Crimeans with Russian heritage were whipped-up by Kremlin agents and, under a pretext of helping them, Russia then annexed the Black Sea nation.

And the same could be happening again.

Since all the Baltic nations are in NATO, an invasion from Russia would mean all fellow members would be forced to come to its rescue under Article Five of the alliance treaty.

And if the military organisation tries to go head-to-head with Russia in another Cold War style conflict, any invasion could even spark a third world war.

The warning comes as strong-man Putin claims he will help to mend broken ties with a Trump-led America.

And Mr Trump has already show a desire for a closer relationship with the Kremlin - much to the concern of the Baltic states which lie on Russia’s western doorstep.

Speaking to the BBC Linas Linkevicius said: “The new administration doesn’t come in until the second part of January.

“I’m very afraid and concerned about this period not just because of the regions which are close to here but let’s hope that Aleppo is not smashed from the ground by then.”

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Nato and Kremlin in war of words over Russian missile deployment

Nato and the Kremlin have traded accusations over the Russian deployment of state-of-the-art missiles in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

Nato on Tuesday accused Russia of “aggressive military posturing”, while Vladimir Putin shot back that Russia was merely responding to Nato aggression.

The rhetoric comes as Europe waits with trepidation to see how a Donald Trump presidency will affect the continent’s security arrangements. Trump said in an interview during his election campaign he would be willing to tell Nato allies, “Congratulations, you will be defending yourself” if he felt they were not contributing enough financially to the alliance.

The UK prime minister, Theresa May, is due to meet Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at Downing Street on Wednesday and is expected to say he must persuade European countries to meet the Nato commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence.

The European parliament on Tuesday voted 369 to 255 in favour of a plan to deepen defence coordination between member states, in part prompted by Trump’s words.

“Our union is not equipped to face overwhelming defence challenges,” said MEP Urmas Paet, a former foreign minister of Estonia who drafted the resolution. “Europe continues to rely heavily on Nato capabilities and on US solidarity.”

Trump also described Nato as obsolete during the campaign and suggested a military alliance with Russia over Syria could be possible, something which has been cautiously welcomed in Moscow and greeted with horror in many European capitals, particularly in the three Baltic nations, which share a border with Russia.

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S. Korea's presidential office explains massive purchase of Viagra

A scandal over South Korean President Park Geun-Hye's shadowy confidante took an even more bizarre turn Wednesday when Park's office was forced to explain a mass purchase of Viagra.

The revelations about Park's decades-long ties with close friend Choi Soon-Sil and with Choi's father the late founder of a cult-like religious group have sparked huge media interest in the president's personal life.

On Tuesday an opposition party lawmaker revealed that Park's office last year bought hundreds of pills which can treat erectile dysfunction, including Viagra and the generic version of the drug.

As the revelation sparked a media frenzy, Park's spokesman said the drug was purchased to ease possible mountain sickness during Park's visit in May to high-altitude African nations including Ethiopia.

"We bought it for the trip but did not use it," Jung Youn-Kuk told reporters, adding the drug is known to be effective in treating altitude sickness.

Park has never married and has no known partner.

Her office in recent years also bought hundreds of injectable doses of human placenta extract and vitamin shots commonly used for detoxification and anti-ageing treatment.

Jung said the doses were bought for workers at the presidential office including Park's bodyguards.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Park also had various injections prescribed for herself using

Choi's name at private clinics, without the knowledge of the official presidential medical staff.

In a scandal which has engulfed the presidency, Park and Choi are accused of colluding to coerce local firms to donate tens of millions of dollars to dubious non-profit foundations controlled by Choi.

Choi allegedly used some of the money for personal gain. Park is also accused of letting Choi meddle in state affairs to the extent of nominating top officials and editing her speeches.

Park faces a criminal probe by prosecutors and a growing push for her impeachment. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks to call for her resignation.

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Japan vows to respond to Russian missile deployment to disputed islands

Japan has vowed to respond to Russia’s "significant" deployment of anti-ship missiles to disputed islands in the Pacific Ocean.

It comes as it emerged Russia is also planning to relaunch “nuclear trains,” a railroad-based weapons system that was used by the Soviet Union during the late 1980s.

Russia’s armed forces said this week that its state-of-the-art Bastion and Bal anti-ship missile systems had been put into operation on the Kuril islands, a desolate archipelago which was seized by the Soviet military at the end of the Second World War.

The seven-decade dispute over ownership of the islands has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty to formally end wartime hostilities.

“We consider this [development] to have serious significance, and will respond in an appropriate manner, after studying the details,” Fumio Kishida, the Japanese foreign minister, said on Wednesday.

But Mr Kishida also said that he hoped to make progress on concluding a peace deal with Moscow during a visit by Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, to Japan in December.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, said this year that the lack of a peace treaty was “abnormal.”

Amid mounting international tensions, news that Russia is also planning to relaunch “nuclear trains” has also raised alarm.

The Barguzin system consists of six Yars or Yars-M thermonuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, their launchers and command units, concealed within train carriages.

The “nuclear trains” will travel around Russia to avoid detection by enemy satellites, and will be virtually indistinguishable from ordinary trains. They can travel up to 600 miles a day and are expected to enter service between 2018 and 2020.

Successful tests of the Barguzin's launch systems were carried out at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-west Russia earlier this month, the Interfax news agency cited a defense industry source as saying.

The news came after Nato and Moscow engaged in a war of words over the Kremlin’s decision to also send Bastion missiles to Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave on the Baltic Sea.

Nato accused Russia of "aggressive military posturing" over the move. The Kremlin hit back angrily, saying the deployment was a response to the Nato missile shield in Europe.

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World's tallest water-slide to be demolished after 10-year-old boy decapitated in accident

The world's tallest water-slide will be demolished after a 10-year-old boy was decapitated in a freak accident on the ride earlier this year.


Caleb Thomas Schwab, son of Republican state representative Scott Schwab, died on the 168 foot high attraction at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City in August.

Horrified witnesses reported that his body was slung from the Verruckt slide, translating to "insane" in German, while a lifeguard tried to hold the crowds back.

Following the fatal incident, some park guests have claimed that the slide's harness was not working properly earlier in the day.


Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in a statement on Tuesday that the Verruckt will be permanently removed after a probe into the theme park tragedy is completed.

"In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy. All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verruckt," they said.

Two other riders , both women, were seriously injured during the accident.

Hannah Barnes and Matraca Baetz described the incident as "the worst day of our lives".

Lawyers for Caleb and the women are independently investigating claims the slide had not been inspected by the state since opening two years ago.

But no charges or lawsuits have yet been filed.

Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said it has been co-operating with investigators and the victims' families and lawyers, noting that "the safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority".

"In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather, we've never experienced this kind of devastating event."

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World’s oldest president will not contest in 2018 elections due to health issues

A senior official from the president's camp has revealed that Robert Mugabe who is the World's oldest and one of the longest serving Heads of State, will not be contesting in the presidential election in 2018, after he was reportedly advised to drop out of the race by his medical doctors.

Although, it’s yet to be officially announced but the unidentified official while explaining the state of the president’s medical records was quoted on Zim News saying:

‘The President’s medical records are classified and private, I cannot disclose anything, but he (Mugabe) has a clean bill of health at the moment. However he is not going to contest the coming elections, after being told by doctors that the campaigning alone will take a heavy toll on him. You will soon find out for yourselves, but the long and short of it is that he is already out of that race.’

Report also has it that the president, who has endured a cocktail of health woes, including eye cataract problems, reported prostate cancer and paining swollen feet, will embark on another round of medicals in Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia when he goes for his annual Christmas holiday with his family in December.

Robert Mugabe aged 92, who assumed the office of the President in 1987 and having ruled for over 30 years.

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Ukraine deputy PM urges U.S. to deter Russia's attempt to ruin World Order

The deputy prime minister of beleaguered Ukraine said on Thursday that appeasing Russian aggression in eastern Europe could doom world order, but she was careful not to criticize U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over fears he might do just that.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze was en route to the annual Halifax International Security Forum, where global security experts and leaders from 60 nations begin meetings Friday.

She called on Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion and others in Ottawa to press Ukraine’s case, two days after 99 nations rejected or abstained from supporting a draft United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and ensuing human rights abuses.

The occupation, which triggered harsh Western sanctions, was followed a month later by the continuing pro-Russian rebel insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

The damage has been staggering: 10,000 civilians and military killed, 22,500 wounded, 1.7 million people internally displaced, 20 per cent of the national economy wiped out, and trade and transit to central Asia restricted through Russia.

Advertisement Tuesday’s UN draft resolution was carried, 76 to 23, with 76 abstentions. Russia, Syria, Iran and China were among the dissenters.

Klympush-Tsintsadze, in an interview with Ottawa Citizen and later remarks to a private gathering of diplomats and academics sponsored by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, called the successful, yet disappointing preliminary vote a warning (a final General Assembly vote is scheduled for December).

It “has to be very attentively explored by all of us, and calls for action on behalf of not only the Ukraine but all civilized nations and definitely Canada,” she said.

She chose her words cautiously on Trump, who suggested during the presidential race U.S. military support for NATO would be conditional on member states “paying their bills,” and he would consider whether the U.S. will recognize Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

The Western military alliance is deploying thousands of troops in the Baltics and Poland to counter the resurgent Russia, including 450 Canadian soldiers to Lativia next year.

But Trump’s NATO comment and other statements have led many to fear he may cozy up to Russian President Valdimir Putin. Klympush-Tsintsadze, a former journalist who studied in the U.S., suggested any such policy leanings by Trump will face pro-NATO, anti-Russian resistance from congressional Republicans and Democrats and the broader Republican Party.

“The U.S. has a pretty solid history and tradition of basing decisions on national interests on the assessments of the threats and challenges they are facing as a country,” she said. “We hope that we will be able to bring our arguments to the new admin and be heard.

“Moreover, the new president will be representing the Republican Party that has a pretty clear tradition of a foreign security policy alliance and I think that will also streamline the decisions that will be made by the new administration.

“I think very quickly and very clearly there will be understanding that Russia has to be deterred in its attempts to ruin the world order that we have built all together the hard way after the Second World
War.”

If not, Canada-U.S. relations could become collateral damage. Canada was quick to condemn the Crimean occupation and pushed for even tougher economic sanctions.

If the Trump White House allows Russia to carve out a sphere of influence in eastern Europe, this could put the Liberal government on a collision course with Washington.

The Ukrainians are also counting on U.S. Vice-president-elect Mike Pence, who split with Trump’s pro-Moscow musings during the campaign, and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

Under that agreement, Ukraine committed to disposing of its huge nuclear arsenal, a relic of the former Soviet Union, in exchange for assurances from the U.S., Russia and Britain to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

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Massive Mediterranean shipwrecks leave 365 migrants dead or missing

The UN's migration watcher has said it now believes 365 people are dead or missing from Mediterranean shipwrecks in recent days.

Leonard Doyle of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a related organisation to the UN, says there is "a calamity in plain sight".

New figures indicate a higher toll from six incidents in the last three days between Libya and Italy, he said. IOM had put the figure at 340 on Thursday.

Mr Doyle told reporters in Geneva that 4,636 people have died on the Mediterranean this year, about 1,000 more than through this point in November last year.

With migrants taking to flimsy rubber rafts to attempt the crossing, he said IOM counts a six-fold increase in deaths this month compared to November last year.

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Breaking: Mozambique Explosion leaves 73 dead, More than 100 injured

At least 73 were killed and another 110 suffered severe burns when a truck carrying petrol blew up in Mozambique, the country's government has said.

"The incident occurred when citizens tried to take petrol from a truck" in the village of Caphiridzange in Tete province, near Malawi, the government said in a statement.

The government added that 110 people were injured, some of them critically. Children were among the wounded, it said.

"Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital," the government statement said.

Authorities are probing whether the truck was selling petrol when it exploded, or whether it had been ambushed by residents, information ministry director Joao Manasses told the AFP news agency.

A local journalist told AFP the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded Thursday afternoon, as scores of people tried to siphon off fuel.

The government "deplores the loss of life... and is currently providing the necessary assistance in order to save lives and to comfort the victims' families," it said.

Three ministers are due to arrive at the scene on Friday in order to monitor the rescuers' work.

Mozambique is one of the world's poorest nations, according to the International Monetary Fund, and since its civil war ended in 1992 its population has suffered the consequences of a terrible economic crisis.

The government recently increased the price of fuel, after the value of the local currency named metical sunk against the dollar.

Tete province was also hit by another tragedy in January 2015, when 75 people died from intoxication after drinking traditional beer.

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Donald Trump to bring back Legendary Churchill statue removed from White House by Barack Obama

Nigel Farage has revealed that Donald Trump will re-install a bust of Winston Churchill removed from the Oval Office by Barack Obama in a clear sign of the friendship the new President wishes to foster with Britain.

The interim Ukip leader said Mr Trump has already pushed Britain to the front of the queue for a favourable trade relationship and added that he is the man to forge stronger ties with the US as he flew to visit the business tycoon in his first days as President Elect.

Mr Farage said: "We talked about the prospect of the United Kingdom being at the front of the queue, all of which was met positively."


His comments come after outgoing President Barack Obama told the UK earlier this year that its decision to leave the EU meant it would be at the "back of the queue" for trade talks.

The Ukip leader described Donald Trump as an "anglophile" and said his re-installation of the Churchill statue was a clear sign of his appreciation for the historically warm relationship between
the allies.

He said: "At the end of our time with Trump we asked him if the bust of Sir Winston Churchill that Obama had removed from the Oval Office could be put back in its rightful place. He enthusiastically thought that was a good idea. Need I say more?"

Nigel Farage played a key role in Mr Trump's US election campaign, speaking at rallies and drumming up support, with Mr Trump referring to his shock election victory as "Brexit plus plus".

During Mr Farage's brief visit to the US 20,000 people protested outside Trump Tower in New York, as anti-Trump rallies and violence broke out across the country.

Echoing Mr Trump's comments online about "unfair" protests, Mr Farage said: "Some people only like democracy when the result suits them."

He asserted that the business tycoon will be a "great president" not an "ogre" and that he was both "thoughtful and reflective" during their meeting.

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Watch Video: Husband uses drone to catch cheating wife then shames her online

A husband believes he has caught his wife cheating on him using a camera on a drone to catch her out.
He’s now uploaded the footage to YouTube with a commentary that shows his anger and heartbreak at the collapse of his 18-year marriage.

He wrote: ‘Used my drone to catch my wife meeting a guy at the local CVS.

‘She had been getting called in early to work more often the past couple weeks, and then I got a call from someone telling me something was going on.

‘I tried to follow her a couple times prior but both times she went to work, so I’m not sure if she was getting tipped off or I was just unlucky. So I took the drone up and that worked.’

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Trump, Putin vow to crush ISIS together as they hold breakthrough talks on phone

President-elect Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have vowed to tackle ISIS together after holding breakthrough talks on the telephone.


Less than a week after the billionaire’s election, the Kremlin said Putin called Trump yesterday to begin negotiations over how best to tackle to terrorism.

The Russian is reported to have said he is ready for dialogue with the US “on the basis of mutual respect, non-intervention into each other’s internal affairs”.

According to the news agency Kremlin, Putin and Trump have agreed to “work to channel bilateral relationships into constructive cooperation, to combine efforts to tackle international terrorism and extremism, and to continue contact by telephone and to work towards meeting in person”.

"The importance of creating a solid basis for bilateral ties was underscored, in particularly by developing the trade-economic component," the Kremlin said in its statement.

It added that the countries should "return to pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation, which would address the interests of both countries as well as stability and safety for the world over."

The two men will maintain contact by phone and seek to meet each other in person, the statement said.

The call is a marked shift in relations between the two countries who have been at loggerheads under the Obama administration.

Trump will take office on January 20, replacing Obama, whose relations with Putin have become tense over various issues including Syria and Ukraine.

The thawing of tensions could have implications for American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been in exile in Moscow since stealing US spy details and publishing them online.

In a statement, Trump's office said: "President-elect Trump noted to President Putin that he is very much looking forward to having a strong and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia."

It added that Putin called the billionaire to offer his congratulations on his election.

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EU ministers meet to discuss Trump presidency

The election of Donald Trump as US president will act as a spur to Europe to co-operate more on defence, European leaders said on Sunday, as foreign ministers gathered for a special dinner in Brussels to discuss the implications of Trump’s stunning victory for European security, and the EU’s relations with Russia, Iran and Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

In a symbolic display of independence from Europe, the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, was not attending the informal dinner, called at short notice, saying the meeting was not necessary. The foreign office said European leaders had been due to meet on Sunday anyway for a two-day general affairs
council.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, was not due to be there either because he had a commitment to meet the new UN secretary general, António Guterres, in Paris on Monday.

Johnson’s absence however is designed to send a signal that the UK wishes to distance itself from some of the fierce criticism of Trump in Europe. Johnson has urged his European colleagues to end their “collective winge-o-rama” about Trump’s election.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The foreign secretary will not attend the meeting convened for Sunday. There is a regular foreign affairs council meeting on Monday where a range of issues can be discussed in the normal way.

“We do not see the need for an additional meeting on Sunday because the US election timetable is long established. An act of democracy has taken place, there is a transition period and we will work with the current and future administrations to ensure the best outcomes for Britain.”

One UK source said it was “rude, arrogant and stupid to think the EU had to have a crisis meeting because of the outcome of a democratic election”.

The Foreign Office was instead underlining its determination to build close relations with Trump, a stance that has been unsettled by Trump choosing to meet the Ukip interim leader Nigel Farage on Saturday, making him the first UK politician to have a direct conversation with Trump since Tuesday’s election.

Ayrault appealed for calm on Sunday, saying: “Let’s stop talking about disarray, I do not understand why people are agitating. We must keep our cool.”

At the same, he conceded that Trump would act as a catalyst for renewed debate about a stronger EU defence force. He said Trump had indicated during his campaign he wanted the US to pull back  from commitments abroad and cast doubt on US commitments to defend Nato members.

“Trump said he wanted Nato countries to pay more and I’m sure he’ll want to sort out who pays what, but he’s unlikely to want to leave the Nato alliance,” Ayrault said.

The ministers will also have to decide on a whole host of issues how far to bend to the new climate in Washington and how far to assert European independence.

The European commission’s president, Jean Claude Juncker, has struck a tough tone saying Trump’s election poses “the risk of upsetting intercontinental relations in their foundation and in their structure”. He added it would take two years to explain how Europe worked to an ignorant Trump.

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Donald Trump 'will not take one dollar' of $400,000 presidential salary upon entering White House

Donald Trump has said he will not accept a salary for being president when he is in the White House.

Prior to his election victory, Mr Trump has insisted he will not “take even one dollar” of the $400,000 presidential salary.

Speaking at an event in September last year, he told a crowd in New Hampshire: “The first thing I'm going to do is tell you that if I'm elected president, I'm accepting no salary, okay? That's not a big deal for me.”

He reiterated the claims in a Twitter Q&A later that month. When a follower asked: “Will you forgo the presidential salary if elected?” To which he replied: “As far as the salary is concerned- I won't take even one dollar. I am totally giving up my salary is I become president.”

During his campaign, the Republican politician made much of his claims that as a millionaire business mogul he is not bound to the bidding of financial backers. Mr Trump is worth an estimated net $3.7 billion, according to Forbes.

Previous wealthy presidents have donated their salaries to charity after deeming it is not financially necessary for them to take it as personal income. Herbert Hoover and John F Kennedy both reportedly donated the money to charity.

The US Code, which outlines duties and entitlements for the President, states: “The President shall receive in full his services during the term for which he shall have been elected compensation in the aggregate amount of $400,000 a year, to be paid monthly, and in addition an expense allowance of $50,000 to assist in defraying expenses relating to or resulting from the discharge of his official duties.”

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Russia unleash hidden 'Killer Robot' that can detect human four miles away

Russia’s ministry of defence has unveiled the latest addition to their devastating robot army, a sentry gun that can identify and shoot dead a human from more than four miles away.

The robotic guardian can be deployed in just 30 seconds and fire both bullets and grenades to take out its targets.

The Russian military is believed to have developed the hi-tech defence system to take out low flying drones and other ariel weapons.

But it will do more for the Russian military than just shoot down an incoming drone. The weapon is equipped with technology to track movement of an incoming device and discover its origin before blasting it out of the sky.

The killer robot can use radar, thermal imaging and both colour and black and white video cameras to give bunkered down Russian soldiers the best view of their target before they annihilate it.

Chief project engineer, Dmitry Perminov, said: "In its structure there is a radar unit that detects a target: human - to about 7km distance, the car - up to 10km.

"After detection, the target is in engaged using an optical system."

But while it was developed for war zones it could be used for homeland security to defend borders and oil pipelines - as well as to spy on the unsuspecting.

Mr Perminov added: ”This system can be applied not only as a military interface, but also for the protection of any strategic objects.

"Interest in it is not only the military, but also in oil to control the pipeline and stop
tapping and the theft of oil.

"We already had a real case during the system test. At some point the robot recorded the theft
of electric cables.

"It filmed a video where a man was seen sawing a wire. A team was sent out and he was caught red-handed."

He also claimed upgrades will mean the semi-self aware robot will be able to identify the difference between an ally and an enemy.

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Nato chief warns Donald Trump 'going it alone is not an option'

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned US President-elect Donald Trump that "going it alone" is not an option for Europe or the United States.

He said the West faced its greatest security challenge in a generation. During his election campaign, Mr Trump described Western military alliance Nato as obsolete.

He suggested that the US would think twice about coming to the aid of any Nato ally under attack if it had not paid its dues.

Writing in Britain's Observer newspaper , Mr Stoltenberg conceded that Mr Trump had a point about the need for some members to make a bigger financial contribution, as the US currently accounted for almost 70% of Nato spending.

But he added that American leaders had always recognised that they had a profound strategic interest in a stable and secure Europe.

"It is all too easy to take the freedoms, security and prosperity we enjoy for granted. In these uncertain times we need strong American leadership, and we need Europeans to shoulder their fair share of the burden," the former Norwegian prime minister wrote.

"Going it alone is not an option, either for Europe or for the United States. We face the greatest challenges to our security in a generation. This is no time to question the value of the partnership between Europe and the United States."

The 9/11 attack on the US, Mr Stoltenberg pointed out, was the only time that Nato had invoked its self-defence clause, which requires all members to come to the aid of one that is attacked.

"This was more than just a symbol. Nato went on to take charge of the operation in Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of European soldiers have served in Afghanistan since.

"And more than 1,000 have paid the ultimate price in an operation that is a direct response to an attack against the United States."

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says that what some at the time saw as the musings of a candidate not expected to win are now been seen as posing an almost existential threat to the alliance.

He adds that Mr Trump's apparent admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin sharpens that concern.

On Friday a spokesman for President Putin said that Mr Trump could help build confidence with Russia by persuading Nato to withdraw its forces from Russia's borders.

However, a former head of Britain's armed forces, Lord Richards, said Mr Trump had already begun "modifying his tone" with respect to his policies, and he cautioned against taking campaign statements at face value.

"His insistence that Nato countries must start paying a bit more for their collective defence, I think, will strengthen Nato, and help Nato make it clear to Russia, should it be necessary, that it's a serious organisation that will defend its members in a crisis," Lord Richards, who served as Nato commander in Afghanistan, told BBC Radio's The World This Weekend programme.

He added: "The reality of becoming president, of inheriting this great mantle of the defender of the Western world and of leading Nato, will curb and impinge and direct much of what he's got to do. He's inheriting a long history here, and I think he'll do the right thing by us all."

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Breaking: 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits New Zealand

Thousands of people are being evacuated from New Zealand's capital and the eastern coast of its South Island after the country was rocked by a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The quake created a tsunami which struck the northeastern coast of the South Island, and has led to the evacuation of thousands of people from the area.

The scale of the damage and the extent of injuries is unclear, but there are reports of significant damage to some buildings in Wellington.

"I hope everyone is safe after the earthquake tonight. The civil defence is looking into the impact of the quake. Follow them to stay updated," Jon Key, the country's prime minister, wrote on Twitter minutes after the tremor took place.


Terrified New Zealanders have already begun posting photographs of their homes in the aftermath of the quake.

A spokesman for New Zealand's ministry of civil defence has issued a tsunami warning and urged those living near the southern and eastern coasts of the South Island to get to high ground as soon as possible.

Several tsunami are expected to strike the coastline within the next few hours, with seismologists predicting a tidal surge of up to three feet.

Tamsin Edensor, a mother of two in Christchurch, said the shaking lasted a "long" time.

"We were asleep and woken to the house shaking, it kept going and going and felt like it was going to build up," she told AFP.

New Zealand sits on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common. An earthquake in 2011 in Christchurch killed 185 people.

The country's 111 emergency service were initially knocked out by the quake, New Zealand police said, but were restored shortly after.

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