Trump laments 'America is nowhere near Asia
ABUJA – The Chief of
Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Thursday, prayed the Federal High
Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking to compel him to produce the
‘missing’ leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,
Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/biafra-cannot-produce-kanu-trial-buratai-tells-court/
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/biafra-cannot-produce-kanu-trial-buratai-tells-court/
President Donald Trump,
fresh off a five-country swing through Asia, sought Wednesday to cast
his first 10 months on the world stage as an unmitigated success,
claiming a "great American comeback" that has restored the US' standing
in the world.
The
speech, which came as Trump fumed at press coverage of his trip, framed
his accomplishments in terms of correcting the "mistakes" of his
predecessors and following through on his promises to voters. But he
offered no new announcements on trade or North Korea, two of the top
issues he focused on during his trip.
"I
vowed that we would reaffirm old alliances and form new friendships in
pursuit of shared goals. Above all I swore that in every decision, every
action I would put the best interest of the American people first. Over
the past 10 months traveling the globe and meeting with world leaders,
that is exactly what I have done," Trump said from the Diplomatic
Reception Room of the White House.
Trump pointed to his efforts during his
first foreign trip to rally Muslim leaders around the fight against
radical Islamist terrorism and his urging that NATO allies boost their
financial commitments to the alliance. And he highlighted his efforts on
this most recent trip to bring back "free and reciprocal trade" and
unite the world against the North Korean threat.
"My fellow citizens, America is back, and the future has never looked brighter," he concluded.
But
much of his speech failed to counter the core of the criticism he has
faced in the wake of his 12-day trip to Asia: that he didn't deliver on
his rhetoric.
Beyond fresh Japanese
sanctions against North Korea and a verbal commitment from China to
increase pressure on North Korea, Trump made no immediate, visible
progress to stop North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and
ballistic missiles.
Trump on Wednesday touted his insistence
to regional partners on "free and reciprocal" trade, but he emerged
with no written commitments from the region to rebalance trade with the
US or change trade practices that have disadvantaged the US.
The
President did appear to try to clean up remarks in Beijing when he said
he did not "blame" China for its unfair trade practices and gave the
country "credit" for taking advantage of the US.
Trump
said Wednesday that he emphasized to Chinese President Xi Jinping in "a
very candid conversation" that US-Chinese trade must be "conducted on a
truly fair and equitable basis."
"The
days of the United States being taken advantage of are over," Trump
promised, though he announced no changes to the terms of the
relationship.
Trump returned
Tuesday night from his tour of Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and
the Philippines, where he focused on trade and North Korea's ongoing
development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Trump was able to help secure the release of three UCLA basketball players, appealing directly to Xi to look into the matter.
But Trump on Wednesday morning was focused on the criticism he has faced from some over his warm embrace of Xi, whom Trump praised in Beijing and absolved of any wrongdoing for unfair trading practices that Trump has said have hurt the US.
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