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Sources claim Trump shared highly classified info with Russians last week

Looks like some folks are looking for reasons to remove the new president from office. Read the report from Washington Post, who first broke the story below... President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State. The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said. The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency. “This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.” The revelation comes as the president faces rising legal and political pressure on multiple Russia-related fronts. Last week, he fired FBI Director James B. Comey in the midst of a bureau investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump’s subsequent admission that his decision was driven by “this Russia thing” was seen by critics as attempted obstruction of justice. One day after dismissing Comey, Trump welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — a key figure in earlier Russia controversies — into the Oval Office. It was during that meeting, officials said, that Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft. For almost anyone in government, discussing such matters with an adversary would be illegal. As president, Trump has broad authority to declassify government secrets, making it unlikely that his disclosures broke the law. White House officials involved in the meeting said Trump discussed only shared concerns about terrorism. “The president and the foreign minister reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations to include threats to aviation,” said H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, who participated in the meeting. “At no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed, and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly.” McMaster reiterated his statement in a subsequent appearance at the White House on Monday and described the Washington Post story as “false,” but did not take any questions. In their statements, White House officials emphasized that Trump had not discussed specific intelligence sources and methods, rather than addressing whether he had disclosed information drawn from sensitive sources. The CIA declined to comment, and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment. But officials expressed concern about Trump’s handling of sensitive information as well as his grasp of the potential consequences. Exposure of an intelligence stream that has provided critical insight into the Islamic State, they said, could hinder the United States’ and its allies’ ability to detect future threats.

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Video: Real disaster

Merecedes unveils new Maybach super car (photos)

Mercedes Benz has unveiled its new super-car, The Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, and it's a dream. "It’s 18.5-feet long (six meters), can achieve 750 horsepower, hit 60 mph in under four seconds and it’s electric" said Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG, during the launch event in Carmel, California.

It has an enormous grille on the front, 24-inch rims, a split rear window and distinctive Gullwing doors (which open upwards). If the strongest charger is used the vehicle can reportedly power up to a range of 62 miles in just five minutes. Inside is a giant touch screen and the upholstered surfaces contain miniature “body sensor displays” that scan the passengers and track their vital functions etc.

The padded leather seats have massage functions and sensors embedded in the upholstery also record internal light, the color of the occupants’ clothing and the ambient temperature. “This information can be used to trigger new, emotional lighting effects in the interior,” says the maker.

Photos: Mrs Iara Oshiomhole pays a welfare visit to IDP community in Edo State

Wife of Edo State Governor Mrs Iara Oshiomhole today August 19, paid a welfare visit the Internally Displaced Persons community, Uhogua. Speaking during the visit, Mrs Oshiomhole expressed her delight and said there is nothing more fulfilling than putting smiles on the faces of the needy. She acknowledged the fact that they're doing well by improving their lives with the little opportunity given to them through the Project Focus skill acquisition program. The First Lady and her entourage, which includes the first son of the Governor, Emmanuel Adams Oshiomhole (Jr), also took a tour round the camp to observe the developments round the fish pond, snail farm, tailoring section and computer facilities provided during the ProjectFocus IDP training.

Lagos ranks world’s 3rd worst city to live in

A report released yesterday by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Lagos as the third worst city to live, maintaining its position at the lowest rungs of the Global Liveability index. Several other global reports had also said that Lagos, with a population of over 22 million, would in the next few years, become the 4th mega city in the world, with a population of over 30 million. The city placed 138th out of the 140 cities ranked in the latest liveability survey, just above war-ravaged Tripoli and Damascus. “Of the poorer-scoring cities, 13 continue to occupy the very bottom tier of liveability, where ratings fall below 50 percent and most aspects of living are severely restricted. “Continued threats from groups like Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos,’’ the report stated. Escalations in hostilities in Libya prompted a sharp decline in liveability in Tripoli, according to the report, while Damascus, although seeing a stabilisation in its decline, remained rooted to the bottom. The top five best countries to live in, according to the report, remain unchanged from last year and they include Melbourne, Australian; Vienna, Austria; Vancouver, Canada; Toronto, Canada; and Calgary, Canada. The liveability survey assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions across five broad categories, including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Lagos scored highest in culture and environment, followed by infrastructure. It scored lowest in stability. Three other African cities joined Lagos at the bottom rung of the liveable cities, including Douala, Cameroon; Harare, Zimbabwe; and Algiers, Algeria; ranking 132nd, 133rd, and 134th respectively. While no African city made it to the top 10 most liveable cities, five were in the 10 least liveable cities. Steve Ayorinde, Lagos State Commissioner for Information, could not be reached for comments last night as phone calls and text messages to his mobile number yielded no response.. Source: Vanguard

Naira sinks to all-time low of 365.25/dollar

The naira traded at an all-time low of 365.25 to the dollar on Thursday in a single interbank market trade of $1m, Thomson Reuters data showed. Interbank trading started two hours after the market opened and offered the currency sharply lower against the dollar. A total of $13m had been traded by 1235 GMT. The naira plunged to a record low and forwards rose, suggesting traders expect further depreciation, as the economy struggles amid a dearth of dollars. Three-month non-deliverable forward contracts climbed by 4.1 per cent to 364.5 against the greenback, Bloomberg reported. Contracts maturing in a year rose by 3.5 per cent to 403, also a record. The local currency has slumped by 38 per cent since the Central Bank of Nigeria ended a 16-month peg of 197-199 per dollar on June 20. The capital controls needed to defend the fix sent foreign investors fleeing and took the economy to the brink of recession. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 1.8 per cent contraction of the economy this year. “There’s still a lot of demand for dollars,” Craig Thompson of Nyon, Switzerland-based brokerage Continental Capital Partners SA, said in a telephone interview. “The central bank has been supplying them. They sold some at 309 on Wednesday to keep the rate down. They’ve been selling dollars most days to keep it going above 320 and have done their best to try and keep it closing around 310. Managing the exchange rate is difficult because there’s pent-up demand,” he added. Local banks are unable to meet much of the demand for dollars, forcing their customers to the black market. The naira trades at 394 per dollar at the parallel market, around 11 per cent weaker than the official rate. “There is no liquidity” in the interbank foreign-exchange market, an analyst at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Kunle Ezun, said. He said the CBN sold dollars on August 15 and 16 and would continue intervening. “They won’t want to see this jump,” Ezun said. “They will come in, maybe tomorrow, to bring it down to 320 or 330.” Source:PUNCH.