A fire broke out on the 50th floor of Trump Tower here, leaving one person dead and six firefighters injured, the New York City Fire Department said today. It said a 67-year-old man, identified as Todd Brassner, was found “unconscious and unresponsive” when firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire.

Brassner, a resident of the 50th floor of Trump Tower, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but later died, Fire Department spokeswoman Angelica Conroy said. The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death, CNN reported.

The fire was contained to the 50th floor of the tower, located on Fifth Avenue in New York. It was ruled under control around 9 p.m. (local time), two hours after it was originally reported, the FDNY tweeted. It also tweeted pictures of the building with several windows of the 50th floor ablaze.

Six firefighters suffered injuries that are not life threatening, Conroy was quoted as saying by the channel. No members of the Trump family were at the tower during the fire, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. President Donald Trump congratulated firefighters and tweeted that the fire was out.

“Fire at Trump Tower is out. Very confined (well built building). Firemen (and women) did a great job. THANK YOU!,” Trump tweeted. Before moving to the White House in January last year, Trump and the first lady lived in the triplex penthouse apartment, which occupies sections of floors 56-58, according to Forbes.

The apartments are listed on floors 66-68, although the building is technically only 58 stories. The headquarters of the Trump Organisation are on the 26th floor of the skyscraper.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces during protests in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 10 while over 1,000 others were wounded by bullets, Palestinian officials said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday when the Israeli Army opened fire on protesters near the border with Israel, Efe news reported. Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al Qedra confirmed that 10 people had died during the clashes. He added that 1,354 people were wounded, including 491 by ammunition and explosives.

The so-called “March of Return” campaign convened by Palestinian factions in Gaza started on March 30 with demonstrations, marches and sit-ins near the border with Israel. Since then, 32 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip.

The six-week protest campaign to mark Land Day, is an annual commemoration of a 1976 protest against Israeli confiscation of Arab-owned land.

Israel deployed snipers along the border fence and warned it would not allow anyone to cross or approach, or put the security of its citizens in danger.

On Friday, about 20,000 Palestinians participated in protests dubbed the “Friday of Tires” at the border, according to the Israeli Army. It accused the protesters of “terrorist acts” such as launching explosives and incendiary objects and damaging a security fence.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights office deplored the reported use of “excessive force” by Israeli soldiers during the March 30 protests in Gaza, where at least 16 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured.

Friday’s protest, however, was smaller in scale than that of last week, which was estimated to bring together about 30,000 Palestinians.

China warned on Friday it will counter tariff measures by the US even though it might lead to a trade war between the two countries.

If the US continued its protectionism despite opposition from China and the international community, China would fight to the end to “protect the interests of the country and the people”, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statemen.

“We don’t want a trade war, but we are not afraid of such a war,” according to the statement cited by Efe news.

The statement came in response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that Washington was considering the imposition of $100 billion tariffs on China apart from an earlier one of $50 billion on hundreds of Chinese products.

After criticising the protectionism against free trade under Trump, China stressed it would continue to reform and open up while safeguarding multilateral trade and promoting global investment.

China, as per its earlier warnings, also formally complained against the US at the World Trade Organization over duties on Chinese products, claiming they exceeded US-bound rates and violated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

As tension grew between the two economic powerhouses, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres insisted on the need for dialogue on Friday, a few hours before he was scheduled to travel to China to take part in the Boao Forum, dubbed as the “Asian Davos”.

On Tuesday, the office of the US Trade Representative published a list of 1,300 Chinese products on which it sought to impose tariffs.

Hours later, China announced 25 per cent tariffs on 106 products worth $50 billion imported from the US.

(IANS)

US President Donald Trump has officially signed a memorandum to deploy the National Guard to the country’s border with Mexico, a move that followed days of him calling for a larger crackdown on illegal immigration.

In the memo signed on Wednesday evening, Trump declared that Defence Secretary James Mattis “shall request use of National Guard personnel” to secure the border and that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will work with him to train and direct the troops in that mission.

Key details like the numbers of troops, how long they will be deployed, how much it will cost and where they will go are still being finalised, CNN reported.

“Despite a number of steps this administration has taken… we continue to see unacceptable levels of illegal drugs, dangerous gang activity, transnational criminal organisations and illegal immigration flow across our border,” Nielsen said, adding that troops could be sent to the border “immediately”.

The move followed days of public fuming by Trump about immigration policy, during which he tweeted about immigration legislation in Congress, a caravan of migrants making its way through Mexico and what he called “weak border laws”.

He tweeted earlier on Wednesday that he would “be taking strong action” on the Mexico border, a day after he said that he wants to send the military to secure it until a wall was built.

Nielsen cited a historic uptick in border crossings in spring months like April and advertising from smuggling groups as reasons for the move, calling it in part “anticipating”.

“Why not yesterday and tomorrow? Today is the day we want to start this process,” she said. “The threat is real.”

“We will not allow illegal immigration levels to become the norm… More than 1,000 people a day, 300,000 a year violating our sovereignty as a nation will never be acceptable to this President,” she said.

The memo instructed the two secretaries and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put together a report within 30 days on further steps the administration can take to combat what it called a “crisis” and “a drastic surge of illegal activity on the southern border”.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Senate “categorically” rejected the US move and said that deploying Army troops or the National Guard in the region would be “yet another wrong” against the Mexican community.

The letter, signed by Mexican Senate President Ernesto Cordero, called on the Mexican government to suspend bilateral cooperation in immigration matters and the fight against organised crime until “Trump behaves with civility and shows respect to Mexico”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres is “very concerned” over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and wants all member states to protect their civilians, his spokesperson has said. His remarks came after Indian security forces on Sunday gunned down 13 militants in three counter-insurgency operations that also claimed the lives of three Army jawans and four civilians in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Secretary-General is, indeed, very concerned about the situation that we’ve seen in Jammu and Kashmir. He reminds that Member States are responsible under international humanitarian law to protect civilians,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters here at his daily press briefing yesterday.

He said the Secretary-General reiterated his call on nations to find ways to address disputes in a peaceful manner. He added that civilians need to be protected wherever they are, “whether it’s in Gaza, whether it’s in Jammu and Kashmir, or whether it’s in Yemen. It’s a basic principle of this organisation.”

When asked if the Secretary General is calling for an investigation into the matter, Dujarric said “any loss of civilians needs to be investigated wherever they occur”.

Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump in which he said that it is necessary for the international community to move forward the Middle East peace process.

According to a Saudi Press Agency report on Tuesday, the Saudi king on Monday evening reaffirmed the kingdom’s steadfast position on the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The conversation came amid rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinians following the bloody clashes in the past days near the Israeli border with Gaza Strip that have left at least 15 Palestinian protesters dead and 1,200 others injured.

The Saudi king expressed his appreciation for a statement issued by the White House on its strong stance towards the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.

The Houthi militias have stepped up their attacks on Saudi targets by firing missiles at the kingdom in retaliation for the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s airstrikes in Yemen.

The Saudi leader also pledged to make efforts to find a political solution to the Yemeni crisis and provide humanitarian aid to its people.

At the same time, the two leaders underlined the importance of the achievements of the concerted international efforts to fight terrorist organisations in Iraq and Syria.

An air strike by Saudi-led coalition near Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah killed at least 14 civilians, including seven children, medics and witnesses say.

A Saudi-led coalition air strike has killed at least 14 civilians, including seven children in Yemen.

The missiles hit a housing compound in the rebel-held city of Hodeidah.

China has slapped new tariffs on 128 US products, including pork and fruits, worth about $3 billion in response to the duties on imports of steel and aluminium imposed by the Trump administration, its Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

The ministry said the central Cabinet has decided to impose a tariff of 15% on 120 American products, including fruits and related products, and a tariff of 25% on eight items, including pork and related products, imported from the US.

The decision was a “countermeasure” in response to the US move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, it said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump had on March 23 signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs up to $60 billions on imports from China and restrictions on Chinese investment in America.

China’s Ministry of Commerce had announced last week that it was considering suspending tariff concessions on 128 categories of US products, including pork, wine and seamless steel tubes, worth $3 billion, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The ministry on Monday said China advocates and supports a multilateral trade system, but suspending tariff concession on the US imports was a “just move” to safeguard the country’s interests using the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

Although in violation of the WTO rules, the US measure, which came into effect from March 23, has severely undermined China’s interests, the statement said.

Despite worldwide objections, the US decided to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminium from many countries, including China, the Xinhua reported.

China is keeping big-ticket items like soybeans, sorghum and Boeing airplanes for heavy tariffs to counter Trump’s imposing tariffs on Chinese products to reduce about $375 billion trade deficit between the two countries.

After signing the memorandum, Trump had asked China to immediately cut trade deficit by $100 billion.

The memorandum is based on the Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, launched by the Trump administration in August 2017, according to the report.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe to visit Trump in April to align strategy aimed at Pyongyang giving up its nuclear programme.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that he will travel to the US in mid-April to discuss with President Donald Trump how to put “maximum pressure” on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

In a statement on Monday, Abe told reporters he will visit the US from April 17 to 20 to meet Trump at his vacation home in Florida.

“I hope to have in-depth discussion with President Trump on North Korea and other issues concerning both of our countries over our two-day meeting,” the prime minister said.

Abe said “maximum pressure” is needed, until Pyongyang abandons its nuclear and missile programme “in a verifiable and irreversible way”, Japanese broadcster NHK reported.

Has North Korea won vital support from China before the Trump summit?
The April meeting comes ahead of a planned summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May.

The announcement of the potential breakthrough meeting set off a slew of diplomatic back-and-forth in the Asia-Pacific region, including a surprise meeting between Japan’s regional rival, China and Kim in Beijing in late March.

The deal to hold a summit followed a flurry of events during last February’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, brightening prospects for a dialogue between the US and North Korea.

Abe also said he wants to take up with Trump the long-standing issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago.

There were an estimated 17 Japanese nationals who were reportedly snatched by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. At least five abductees returned to Japan in 2002.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe will also ask Trump to exempt Japan from the new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

Suga said the two leaders will discuss free trade, “as this is an issue of mutual interest”.

In recent weeks, Trump imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminium products from China, while Beijing hit back with retaliatory tarrifs on US products.

Seven police officers died and at least 10 inmates were injured in a weekend riot at a prison in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.

The riot broke out about 10 pm on Saturday in the La Toma state prison, located in the mountain city of Amatlan de Los Reyes, where 1,300 prisoners demanded that the warden and the police chief at the facility be fired, Xinhua reported.

Officers with the anti-riot force under the authority of Veracruz’s Public Safety Secretariat entered the prison to try and bring the rioting inmates under control.

The state government in a press release announced that upon entering the facility, the police were repelled by the inmates who had gained access to certain carpentry tools and had set fire to mattresses.

Seven police officers died during the operation, which concluded about 6 am on Sunday, when security forces were finally able to retake full control of the prison.

The burning of the mattresses, the bulletin said, “could have caused the asphyxiation of the police,” but experts with the State Attorney General’s Office are investigating the cause of death of the officers.

At least 10 prisoners were injured during the operation. Outside the prison, Federal Police, Mexican marines, the state police and the Military Police were on guard to prevent inmates’ relatives from gaining entry to the facility.

Prisoners’ relatives confronted the officers and demanded that Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes come to the site to report to them on the situation.

The state of Veracruz has been beset by a rising spiral of violence over the past decade due to the presence of drug trafficking gangs and cartels.