Beleaguered French politician Francois Fillon has declared "no one can stop" his bid for the presidency after a mass rally attended by thousands in Paris.
The centre-right candidate insisted he would not be standing down during an interview on French television, despite growing calls for him to quit the race.
He faces a criminal investigation over payments made to family members.
Meanwhile, Alain Juppe, who is widely tipped to replace him, has announced he will be making a statement on Monday.
Mr Fillon had earlier told tens of thousands of supporters, many waving tricolour flags, he would be cleared over allegations he had paid his family for work they did not do.
These allegations have resulted in Mr Fillon's popularity slipping in opinion polls, and Sunday's rally was seen as a crucial test, with senior figures in his party said to be eyeing up a replacement.
Just before the rally Christian Estrosi, a close ally of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, told BFMTV that senior Republicans would propose an alternative candidate in the coming hours.
However, he said it was important "not to humiliate" Mr Fillon and allow him a "dignified" way out.
The Republican party will hold crisis talks on the candidacy on Monday.
But Mr Fillon was in a defiant mood during in an interview on French television network France 2 on Sunday evening.
"No one today can stop me being a candidate," he said.
sing a phrase that was condemned by many on social media, he said he was "not autistic" and was able to listen to criticism and understand the difficulties his campaign faced.
However, he rejected the idea of being replaced by Mr Juppe, his rival in the primaries last year.
"If they had wanted Alain Juppe's project, then they would have voted for Alain Juppe in that election," Mr Fillon said.
Mr Fillon will no doubt have been buoyed by the thousands of people who turned out in the driving rain to hear him talk.
Referring to his opponents, he told the crowd: "They think I'm alone, they want me to be alone. Are we alone? Thank you for your presence."
He said he would be exonerated when an impending criminal investigation got under way, and it would be the turn of his accusers to feel ashamed.
A prize worth the fight: Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris
Francois Fillon is engaged in a trial of strength at the top of his Republicans party. He knows he is increasingly isolated and that moves are afoot to get him replaced by Alain Juppe. But he also thinks the presidential prize is worth the fight, and that he still has plenty of reserves.
Fillon's central argument is that he was chosen as candidate by an overwhelming majority of voters in the November primary. These people - he repeated it in his address - chose me because of my manifesto. And that manifesto remains the best way of saving France from decline.
Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, attends a meeting at the Trocadero square across from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 5, 2017
By holding the rally, Mr Fillon has now thrown down the gauntlet. To the party he is saying: Drop me if you will. But if you do, know that you may also lose millions of voters who - like the people who have turned out here in Paris - chose me because of my ideas.
These voters are not obliged to follow Alain Juppe. They may choose someone else - maybe Marine Le Pen.
"The problem is that by then it will be too late, the election will have been skewed," he said.
But he admitted that he had made a mistake in employing his wife, Penelope Fillon, who accompanied him at the rally.
A counter-demonstration, billed as a pot-banging rally against corruption by officials, was also being held in the Place de la Republique.
Poll slump
Mr Fillon's wife has said she did carry out parliamentary work for him.
In an interview for French magazine Journal du Dimanche (in French), Penelope Fillon said everything was "legal and declared" and he would have paid someone else to do it if she had not.
The latest opinion polls suggest that Mr Fillon would be eliminated in the first round of presidential election voting on 23 April, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen and liberal Emmanuel Macron likely to progress to contest the election run-off on 7 May.
A survey published in Journal du Dimanche (in French) suggests that 71% of those polled want Mr Fillon to step down.
In another blow to Mr Fillon's campaign, his spokesman Thierry Solere became the latest member of the campaign team to announce his departure on Friday.
Mr Fillon's woes have raised speculation that Mr Juppe, another former prime minister whom he overwhelmingly defeated in November's Republicans' primary, could return to the race if he were to pull out.
BBC, March 05 2017
http://www.herbalkeluargaharmonis.com/
Monday, March 6, 2017
Francois Fillon Vows to Continue His Bid for the French Presidency Despite a Graft Scandal
French presidential candidate Francois Fillon told supporters gathered in Paris on Sunday that "no one can stop" his leadership bid, despite a corruption scandal that has left him under official investigation and without the support of many in his center-right Republican party.
The former prime minister assured thousands rallying in the capital that he would not bow to pressure on him to step aside due to the impending graft charges, the BBC reports.
Once a frontrunner in the presidential race, Fillion's campaign has been derailed by allegations that he paid his wife and children public money for work they never carried out. Fillion has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has characterized the scandal as politically motivated.
Now lagging in third place in the polls, Fillon is no longer expected to make it past the first round of voting to be held on April 23, which will likely see far-right leader Marine Le Pen and liberal Emmanuel Macron go on to compete in the May 7 presidential run off.
Time, March 06 2017
http://www.herbalkeluargaharmonis.com/
The former prime minister assured thousands rallying in the capital that he would not bow to pressure on him to step aside due to the impending graft charges, the BBC reports.
Once a frontrunner in the presidential race, Fillion's campaign has been derailed by allegations that he paid his wife and children public money for work they never carried out. Fillion has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has characterized the scandal as politically motivated.
Now lagging in third place in the polls, Fillon is no longer expected to make it past the first round of voting to be held on April 23, which will likely see far-right leader Marine Le Pen and liberal Emmanuel Macron go on to compete in the May 7 presidential run off.
Time, March 06 2017
http://www.herbalkeluargaharmonis.com/
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Former U.S. intelligence chief rejects Trump wiretap accusation
The former top U.S. intelligence official rejected President Donald Trump's accusation that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped him even as the White House on Sunday urged Congress to investigate Trump's allegation.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to reject Trump's wiretapping claim because it was false and must be corrected, but the department had not done so. The report cited senior U.S. officials.
The White House asked Congress, controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans, to examine whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia's influence on the election.
Trump on Saturday alleged, without offering supporting evidence, that Obama ordered a wiretap of the phones at Trump's campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in New York.
"There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, or as a candidate or against his campaign," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who left his post at the end of Obama's term in office in January, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Under U.S. law, a federal court would have to have found probable cause that the target of the surveillance is an "agent of a foreign power" in order to approve a warrant authorizing electronic surveillance of Trump Tower.
Asked whether there was such a court order, Clapper said, "I can deny it."
Democrats accused Trump of trying to distract from the rising controversy about possible ties to Russia. His administration has come under pressure from FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between members of his campaign team and Russian officials.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions bowed out last week of any probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election after it emerged he met last year with Russia's ambassador while serving as a Trump campaign advisor. Sessions maintained he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose the meetings.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump and administration officials would have no further comment on the issue until Congress has completed its probe, potentially heading off attempts to get Trump to explain his accusations."Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling," Spicer said in a statement.
U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, Republican head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee examining possible links between Russia and Trump's campaign, said in a statement that any possible surveillance on campaign officials would be part of the probe.
Trump made the wiretapping accusation in a series of early morning tweets on Saturday amid expanding scrutiny of his campaign's ties to Russia. An Obama spokesman denied the charge, saying it was "a cardinal rule" that no White House official interfered with independent Justice Department investigations.
The White House offered no evidence on Sunday to back up Trump's accusation and did not say it was true.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, appearing on ABC's "This Week," said Trump has "made very clear what he believes, and he's asking that we get down to the bottom of this. Let's get the truth here."
'EARLY STAGES OF INVESTIGATION'
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Florida resort, said in his tweets on Saturday that the alleged wiretapping took place in his Trump Tower office and apartment building in New York, but there was "nothing found."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Trump had either made a false accusation, or a judge had found probable cause to authorize a wiretap.
"Either way, the president's in trouble," Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press," adding that if Trump was spreading misinformation, "it shows this president doesn't know how to conduct himself."Clapper said "there was no evidence" of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in a January intelligence report concluding Russian interference in the 2016 election, but "this could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left government."
Trump's allegations echo charges made in recent days by several conservative news and commentary outlets, all without offering any evidence.
Trump should immediately turn over any evidence he has to support his allegation, said U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"What we need to deal with is evidence, not just statements," she said on CBS's "Face the Nation," adding she also had not seen evidence of collaboration "but we are in the very early stages of our investigation."
Trump fired his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, in February after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary under Obama, said the president did not have the authority to unilaterally order a wiretap of a U.S. citizen.
"The president was not giving marching orders to the FBI about how to conduct its investigation," Earnest said on ABC's "This Week."
Reuters, March 06 2017
http://www.herbalkeluargaharmonis.com/
The New York Times reported on Sunday that FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to reject Trump's wiretapping claim because it was false and must be corrected, but the department had not done so. The report cited senior U.S. officials.
The White House asked Congress, controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans, to examine whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia's influence on the election.
Trump on Saturday alleged, without offering supporting evidence, that Obama ordered a wiretap of the phones at Trump's campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in New York.
"There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, or as a candidate or against his campaign," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who left his post at the end of Obama's term in office in January, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Under U.S. law, a federal court would have to have found probable cause that the target of the surveillance is an "agent of a foreign power" in order to approve a warrant authorizing electronic surveillance of Trump Tower.
Asked whether there was such a court order, Clapper said, "I can deny it."
Democrats accused Trump of trying to distract from the rising controversy about possible ties to Russia. His administration has come under pressure from FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between members of his campaign team and Russian officials.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions bowed out last week of any probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election after it emerged he met last year with Russia's ambassador while serving as a Trump campaign advisor. Sessions maintained he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose the meetings.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump and administration officials would have no further comment on the issue until Congress has completed its probe, potentially heading off attempts to get Trump to explain his accusations."Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling," Spicer said in a statement.
U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, Republican head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee examining possible links between Russia and Trump's campaign, said in a statement that any possible surveillance on campaign officials would be part of the probe.
Trump made the wiretapping accusation in a series of early morning tweets on Saturday amid expanding scrutiny of his campaign's ties to Russia. An Obama spokesman denied the charge, saying it was "a cardinal rule" that no White House official interfered with independent Justice Department investigations.
The White House offered no evidence on Sunday to back up Trump's accusation and did not say it was true.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, appearing on ABC's "This Week," said Trump has "made very clear what he believes, and he's asking that we get down to the bottom of this. Let's get the truth here."
'EARLY STAGES OF INVESTIGATION'
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Florida resort, said in his tweets on Saturday that the alleged wiretapping took place in his Trump Tower office and apartment building in New York, but there was "nothing found."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Trump had either made a false accusation, or a judge had found probable cause to authorize a wiretap.
"Either way, the president's in trouble," Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press," adding that if Trump was spreading misinformation, "it shows this president doesn't know how to conduct himself."Clapper said "there was no evidence" of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in a January intelligence report concluding Russian interference in the 2016 election, but "this could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left government."
Trump's allegations echo charges made in recent days by several conservative news and commentary outlets, all without offering any evidence.
Trump should immediately turn over any evidence he has to support his allegation, said U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"What we need to deal with is evidence, not just statements," she said on CBS's "Face the Nation," adding she also had not seen evidence of collaboration "but we are in the very early stages of our investigation."
Trump fired his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, in February after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary under Obama, said the president did not have the authority to unilaterally order a wiretap of a U.S. citizen.
"The president was not giving marching orders to the FBI about how to conduct its investigation," Earnest said on ABC's "This Week."
Reuters, March 06 2017
http://www.herbalkeluargaharmonis.com/
North Korea 'test fires ballistic missiles' as US-South Korean war games continue
North Korea has fired four ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast, according to South Korea and Japan.
The launch was an apparent reaction to huge military drills by the US and South Korea that the North insists are an invasion rehearsal.
The US military said it detected and tracked what it assessed was a North Korean missile launch, but added the launch did not pose a threat to North America.
US Strategic Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Martin O'Donnell said US forces remained "vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and are fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies to maintain security".
South Korea's military said there was a low chance the missiles were intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said three of the four missiles landed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
"The latest launches of ballistic missiles clearly demonstrate evidence of a new threat from North Korea," Mr Abe said.
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile test-launches of various ranges in recent months.
The ramped-up tests come as leader Kim Jong-un pushes for a nuclear and missile program that can deter what he calls US and South Korean hostility toward the North.
Seoul and Washington call their military drills on the Korean Peninsula, which remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty, defensive and routine.
The South Korean military said the missiles were launched from Tongchang-ri in the North Korean republic, where a military base is located.
North Korea test-launched a new intermediate-range missile in February and conducted two nuclear tests last year.
There has also been widespread worry that the North will conduct a test of an ICBM that, if perfected, could in theory reach US shores.
Washington would consider such a capability a major threat.
The United States has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against a potential aggression from the North.
ABC Australia, March 06 2017
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