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Donald Trump embarks on marathon tour of Asia

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Media caption President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath at Pearl Harbor US President Donald Trump has embarked on an 11-day trip to Asia during which he will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. It will be the longest tour of Asia by a US president in 25 years. The trip comes at a time of heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear programme and missile tests. Mr Trump is expected to show a united front with South Korea and Japan while pressing China to take a stronger line with Pyongyang. President Trump flew first to the US state of Hawaii where he visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor - the scene of the 1941 Japanese attack that drew the US into World War Two. He also took part in a briefing at the US Pacific Command. What does Asia want from Donald Trump? Trump in Asia: A beginner's guide Trump vows to tackle N Korea on Asia trip What has Trump said about your country? From Haw...
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Profile: Lebanon's Hezbollah movement

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Image copyright AP Image caption Hezbollah insists it needs to maintain its military wing to protect Lebanon Hezbollah - the Party of God - is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon. It emerged with the help of Iran during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s, though its ideological roots stretch back to the Shia Islamic revival in Lebanon in the 1960s and '70s. After Israel withdrew in 2000, Hezbollah resisted pressure to disarm and continued to strengthen its military wing, the Islamic Resistance. In some ways, its capabilities now exceed those of the Lebanese army, its considerable firepower used against Israel in the 2006 war. The group also gradually became a key power broker in Lebanon's political system, and has effectively gained veto power in the cabinet. Hezbollah has been accused of carrying out a string of bombings and plots against Jewish and Israeli targets and is designated a...
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Lebanese PM Hariri resigns, saying he fears assassination plot

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Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Hariri has been in charge for less than a year Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has resigned, saying in a televised broadcast he feared for his life, while also fiercely criticising Iran. Mr Hariri's father, former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005. Mr Hariri accused Iran of sowing "fear and destruction" in several countries, including Lebanon. He was named prime minister in November last year, after previously holding the position between 2009 and 2011. "We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri," he said in the broadcast from the Saudi capital Riyadh. "I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life." Mr Hariri also attacked the Iran-backed Shia movement Hezbollah, which wields considerable power in Lebanon. What is Hezbollah? He has made several visits in the past few days to...
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Pakistani ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's corruption trial adjourned

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Image copyright AFP/GETTY IMAGES Image caption Nawaz Sharif denies any wrongdoing Pakistan's court has adjourned the hearing of two cases of alleged corruption against former PM Nawaz Sharif until 7 November. He and some of his family members are facing charges relating to their ownership of properties in London. They deny any wrongdoing, saying the charges are politically motivated. Mr Sharif, 67, resigned as prime minister in July after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him over undeclared income. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to investigate and conduct a trial into the Sharif family's wider finances. Nawaz Sharif's Panamagate explained How a font exposed 'fake' documents Profile: Nawaz Sharif Mr Sharif returned to Pakistan from London on Thursday after weeks of speculation. He had been staying in the UK capital while his wife underwent cancer treatment. On Friday morning, the former prime minister, his d...
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A court sketch of Abdelkader MerahImage copyrightAFP Image caption Abdelkader Merah went on trial at the start of October The brother of the French jihadist who murdered seven people in Toulouse, including three Jewish children, has been jailed for 20 years. A court in Paris found Abdelkader Merah guilty of terrorist offences. But he was cleared of having a direct role in the 2012 attacks, in which his younger sibling, Mohamed Merah, shot three soldiers and then three children and a teacher at a Jewish school. The court also jailed a second suspect, Fettah Malki, 34, for 14 years. Mohamed Merah, 23, was shot dead by police after a 32-hour siege in March 2012. His spate of deadly shootings, carried out in the name of al-Qaeda, was the first such jihadist attack in France since 1995. My brother the jihadist Who was Mohamed Merah? The high-profile trial, which has been held amid tight security, began last month. Prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment for Abdelkader Merah and 20 years for Fettah Malki. Abdelkader Merah, 35, had been accused of mentoring and encouraging his brother's interest in jihadism, and of helping him to steal a scooter that was used in the attack. He denied the allegations, and his lawyers argued that he was being pursued by prosecutors because they could not put Mohammad Merah on trial. Fettah Malki was jailed for providing Mohamed Merah with a weapon, ammunition and a bullet-proof vest. Arieh, Jonathan and Gabriel Sandler (far L, L and C) who were murdered by MerahImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image caption Jonathan Sandler and his sons Arieh (far L) and Gabriel (C) were murdered by Merah at a Jewish school in Toulouse Mohamed Merah shot and killed Imad Ibn-Ziaten, a 30-year-old staff sergeant in the 1st Airborne Transportation Regiment, behind the Chateau de l'Hers school in a quiet district of Toulouse on 11 March 2012. Four days later, he killed two members of the 17th Airborne Combat Engineering Regiment, Corporal Abel Chennouf, 24, and Private Mohamed Legouad, 26, outside a small shopping centre in Montauban, 45km (30 miles) from Toulouse. On 19 March, Merah attacked the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse. He murdered Jonathan Sandler, a 30-year-old rabbi and teacher of religion, and his two sons Arieh and Gabriel, aged five and four. The fourth victim was the head teacher's daughter, seven-year-old Myriam Monsonego, whom Merah grabbed by the hair and shot in the head. Merah had filmed his murders with a head-mounted camera, which investigators later seized with the recording. He was shot dead on 22 March after a police siege at his flat in Toulouse which lasted nearly a day and a half. R

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Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Jerome Powell had been widely tipped as the top choice President Donald Trump has named Jerome Powell as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve. Mr Powell, a Republican and multi-millionaire, currently serves as a member of the bank's board, to which he was appointed in 2012. He had been widely tipped as the top choice for more than a week. Analysts regard him as a status quo candidate, likely to continue the Fed's current policies of gradually raising interest rates. Jerome Powell: Who is Trump's Fed chair nominee? President Trump said Mr Powell, known as Jay, commanded the respect of both parties and urged swift Senate confirmation. "I am confident that Jay has the wisdom and leadership to guide our economy through any challenges," he said during the announcement in Washington. President Trump interviewed five candidates for the role, including current chair Janet Yellen, whose term finishes in February....
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