The book placed in guest rooms says the Nanjing Massacre did not happen Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders of all visitors in Japan last year China has ordered tour agencies and online travel bookers to boycott a Japanese hotel chain after it placed books in guest rooms denying the Nanjing Massacre took place. A spokesman for the China National Tourism Administration said the actions of hotel chain APA Group were “an open provocation to Chinese tourists.” “We demand that all operators with international tours and online platforms completely stop all cooperation with this hotel,” Zhang said. He also urged Chinese tourists already in Japan to boycott the chain as well. APA told CNN in an email that it was surprised about the “sudden fuss” regarding the book but has no intention to change its policy or remove the books “The cancellation from the Chinese customers apparently happening, but as we have reservations for other customers. There is no big impact for us,” APA said. In a statement last week, APA defended its placement of the book – written by CEO Toshio Motoya – on the grounds of freedom of expression. “Although we acknowledge that historic interpretation and education vary among nations, please clearly understand that the book is not aimed to criticize any specific state or nation, but for the purpose of letting readers learn the fact-based true interpretation of modern history,” the chain said. An estimated 300,000 people died during the Nanjing Massacre – a weeks-long spree of mass killings, rape and looting after the Japanese military occupied Nanjing in late 1937 and 1938. The book claims that figure is “absurd” and argues that the incident was “fabricated by the Chinese side and did not actually happen.” The Nanjing Massacre is well-documented. It was discussed in the Tokyo War Crimes trials following WWII, and in 2015 documents related to the incident were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. APA did not respond to a request for comment on the claims of the book, and the chain said Tuesday it was still willing to accept reservations from Chinese tourists. After two Chinese tourists wrote about finding the book in their hotel room earlier this month, the issue blew up on Chinese social media, with many demanding for an apology from the chain and calling for a boycott. Chinese tourists have been a huge boon to Japan’s economy in recent years. In 2016, they became the biggest spenders of all foreign visitors to the country, spending over $13 billion, according to state media. On Tuesday, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua described the incident as “only the tip of the iceberg of Japan’s ultra-right wing’s efforts to revise the nation’s war history.” “A small group of Japanese individuals are desperate to erase the historical crime,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday. “The more eager they are to do so, the more likely it will evoke people’s memory of the past. These regressive behaviors have already triggered strong indignation of the Chinese people.” CNN’s Steven Jiang and Christy Chen contributed reporting from Beijing.


The piece satirizes Trump and Putin The two men have praised each other It looks like the 2016 election is entering the avant-garde. A mural depicting presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing, along with the stenciled phrase “make everything great again,” now adorns the back of a Lithuanian barbeque joint, Keule Ruke. The image has gone viral, but the artist – Mindaugas Bonanu – told CNN Sunday that he was mostly unfazed by the international attention his mural received. “In my life nothing changed, except that now I have full pocket of food coupons to eat in Keule Ruke,” Bonanu said. The restaurant’s owner, Dominykas Ceckauskas, requested a piece of art featuring Trump for his wall. U.S. launches long-awaited European missile defense shield “We always believed that the small libertarian BBQ joint situated on the NATO border with Russia will go viral one day,” read the caption for the photo on the restaurant’s Facebook page. The piece satirizes Trump and Putin by analogizing their relationship with a famous work of art on the Berlin wall, depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker sharing a kiss. Although neither Trump nor Putin are strangers to parody, this Lithuanian graffiti is notable for joining the two together. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bonanu, who describes himself as apolitical, said after Ceckauskas made the Trump-specific street art request, this “love scene” came naturally to him. During a time of increased tensions between the United States and Russia, much has been made of Trump and Putin’s warm words for each other. The Republican billionaire said last fall that he thinks he would “get along very well” with Putin. Last December, Putin called Trump “a bright and talented person without any doubt … an outstanding and talented personality.”. The piece will only remain up until next Friday, Bonanu said. CORRECTION: A previous version of the photo caption misidentified the man in the photo.


Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for The Miami Herald and World Politics Review, and a former CNN producer and correspondent. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Frida Ghitis: Trump's recent decision to pull a US training program from Syrian rebels may have an awkward parallel to Obama's decision in the region The difference is that Trump's actions will leave the world more unstable, she writes President Donald Trump has just given Russia what he might call a “beautiful” gift. According to the Washington Post, Trump has decided to dismantle a US program that was arming and training some of the rebels fighting the Syrian dictator, President Bashar al-Assad. When asked about the report, the White House and the CIA declined to comment. The decision grants Vladimir Putin one of his long-sought changes to US policy in the Middle East, and it does it in exchange – as far as we can tell – for nothing at all. The end of the US-backed push against Assad is not only a gift to Russia and to the Syrian president – it is also a point on the scoreboard for his ambitious allies, the Iranian regime and its Lebanese catspaw, Hezbollah. The change is not transformative on the battlefield – the rebels were not about to overthrow the Russia- and Iran-backed Assad – but it is loaded with important symbolism and geopolitical implications. To be sure, the program, a small operation run by the CIA, was far from a resounding success. It suffered since its earliest days in 2013 from the wavering in Washington, the turbulence of the Syrian civil war and, quite possibly, from President Barack Obama’s reluctance to antagonize Tehran when his priority was to negotiate a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. With his confusing Syria policy, Trump has created an awkward parallel to his predecessor’s: Obama may have refrained from taking more forceful action in Syria partly in an effort to improve relations with Iran and now Trump may be stepping back from Syria to improve relations with Russia. Related article Syrian war is everybody's problem Iran aside, Obama was never convinced that the United States should play much of a role in Syria. He waited far too long to take a stand. By then, the moderate rebels started to fade, extremists grew stronger, and it became increasingly difficult to find trustworthy partners among the rebels. Obama’s hesitation is one of the reasons why a pro-democracy uprising in Syria degenerated into a brutal civil war. Moderate Syrians struggling for democracy were left to twist in the wind while extremists on both sides received muscular backing, funding and weaponry from abroad. By the time the US acted, it was too late. Consequently, Assad (and Iran) wanted the world to see only two choices in Syria, ignoring that democratic reform could be an option. The way he described it, it was him or the terrorists. Ironically, it was the Iran-funded terrorist group Hezbollah that came to his rescue, and then Russia jumped in with both feet as Obama watched. Now Trump is ceding political ground to Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. The Trump administration’s policy is thoroughly nebulous, particularly regarding Assad. It’s unclear whether Washington is prepared to let Assad stay. But the latest decision appears to bring an end to American support for those seeking to topple him. Related video Ex-CIA officer: Anti-Assad program was important The US, let’s be clear, is deeply involved in Syria. It backs the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which are led by Syrian Kurds along with Arab tribes, but they are fighting against ISIS, not Assad. US allies are making headway against ISIS, turning this into a crucial time for Syria’s future – and the worst possible moment to make unrequited concessions. Once ISIS is defeated, the powers on the ground will decide the country’s future. The US is making room for Russia and Iran to play a larger role in that pivotal process for the entire Middle East. By folding this tent, the United States is not only diminishing its regional influence, it is also showing itself to be an unreliable partner. It is a move that will not go unnoticed in the region by America’s existing or prospective partners. The rebels say they have been betrayed by Washington. In fairness, the training program was not about to lead to Assad’s toppling, but it is remarkable that Trump gave Putin something for nothing. From the beginning, many viewed the Obama administration training program only as a bargaining chip, to cash in when the time to settle Syria’s future arrived, perhaps to help secure a more pluralistic Syria.  Now President “Art of the Deal” appears to have given it away with nothing to show for it. Related article Putin is running out of options in Syria In late June, we heard reports that Trump had asked his aides for ideas of possible concessions he could offer to Putin ahead of their planned G20 meeting in Hamburg. It was never clear what Trump expected to get in return. Trump has been open about wanting to improve relations with Russia, but closer ties would be concession enough. Putin did not need an incentive to accept. The ceasefire agreement in southern Syria is a welcome respite from the fighting, but it allows Iran and Hezbollah to grow roots in the places they hold, just as the US appears to be stepping back from the post-ISIS phase of the conflict and giving away its own bargaining chips. This is all happening as Iran’s allied militia, Hezbollah, is building up its weapons arsenals in Lebanon, just next door to Syria. In an effort to develop better relations with Moscow, Trump risks turning a blind eye to Iran’s growing influence in Syria and Lebanon. That is something that will raise the alarm of Washington allies in the region, from Saudi Arabia to Israel. It is the kind of geopolitical blunder that leaves the United States weaker and the world more unstable. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook It’s no wonder the US Senate has tried to prevent Trump from making more moves favorable to Russia. In mid-June, the Senate voted 98 to 2 to require congressional approval before Trump can dismantle any of the sanctions the US imposed on Russia after it annexed a slice of Ukraine. But shuttering the training program in Syria is one way Trump was able to help Russia even without easing sanctions. As for the Senate bill approved by almost every member, Republican and Democrat, it remains stalled in the House, where Trump loyalists are trying to water it down. Meanwhile, those who rule in Moscow, Tehran and Damascus, can only celebrate their good fortune as they unwrap their beautiful gift from Washington.

Trump's decision to pull US training program from Syrian rebels


NATO's Camp Phoenix is now a drug rehab center Heroin addiction is a growing problem in Afghanistan The country is one of the largest exporters of opium The sound of a bare razor, scraping hair off an unwashed scalp. The shuddering foot of someone struggling with the agony of withdrawal. The endless racks of expensive internet cables that once connected the building to satellites in space but now gather dust. Months ago, this was Camp Phoenix. A large and tidy NATO military base, it was home to hundreds of British soldiers and their support staff, and some Americans too. CNN used to visit for often highly organized media events that NATO laid on in a bid to show the war in Afghanistan was being won, and they could go home. But now victories here are a little more palpable, and something that everyone inside the base’s walls can only win over themselves. Afghanistan war: Just what was the point? Related video Afghanistan's TOLO TV defies the Taliban Camp Phoenix has been turned into a large and heavily fortified drug rehabilitation center. Walls that once kept the Taliban’s bombs out, now keep those struggling with heroin addiction in. Heroin is a shocking blight on Afghanistan, one bolstered by the country’s endless supply of cheap opium. The country’s most lost and dejected find solace in what is perhaps its most famous export, if not its deadliest. There are 1.9 to 2.4 million adult drug users in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations, or around 12.6% of the adult population – more than double the global drug use rate of 5.2%. Opium harvested in Afghanistan – 3,300 tonnes in 2015, according to the UN (the same as in 2000) – is also increasingly making its way to the U.S., itself in the midst of a heroin epidemic. Afghanistan: The Taliban are winning Related video One city's radical fix for heroin epidemic Patients are voluntary, except when they’re not. Either families drop them off, exhausted at looking after them, or the police sweep the streets, and one particularly notorious bridge on the outskirts of Kabul, and dump their haul of human cargo at the center. Occasionally a patient, like Wais, will stumble in of their own volition. Wais is 45, and just beginning his journey of rehabilitation, his eyes dazed, sparkling with panic about the ungovernable sensations beginning to grip his body. The center doesn’t do soft landings, there’s no methadone here – the drug most often used in the West to ease withdrawal symptoms – just the occasional anti-depressant, and lots of cold turkey. First, patients heads are shaved. Perhaps for hygiene, or perhaps to remind them that this is a new phase of their lives. Al Qaeda ‘very active’ in Afghanistan: U.S. Commander No lather, no electric trimmer, just a bare disposable razor sweeping off Wais’ thick, dark hair. Five minutes later he is beardless, bald and sits dizzily waiting for a medical examination. Already the symptoms of withdrawal are kicking in, “I have pain all over my body and I feel so exhausted that if I had a knife I would cut myself apart.” Sometimes the pain is so great, says Dr. Dariush Osmani, the center’s deputy director, that patients attempt to set fire to their rooms. Others have used internet cables lining the ceiling to try and hang themselves. Withdrawal makes there seem like there is no alternative. Osmani recounts the endless schemes addicts use to smuggle heroin into the center: hidden in oranges, in people, thrown over the wall. But he says the biggest danger comes from dealers themselves, who see the center as a threat to their business. Yet inside these walls, the exorbitant cost of the NATO campaign in Afghanistan, where multi-million dollar facilities like this would appear and disappear in months in service of endlessly changing goals, there is some comfort that a weapon of war is now a tool of healing for the country’s most frail.


Grand juries make the preliminary decision to officially accuse a criminal defendant Grand jury proceedings are not open to the public Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in his investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 election. But what exactly is a grand jury investigation? And what does it mean? Related article Mueller issues grand jury subpoenas related to Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting Grand juries typically fulfill both an investigative and charging function. 1) When it comes to investigating, the grand jury is granted the ability to subpoena documents and witnesses. In a complicated and long-term criminal investigation, federal prosecutors will go to the grand jury to ask to issue subpoenas for the production of documents or records they deem necessary for the case. Also, if prosecutors want to force witnesses to testify under oath, they go to the grand jury to subpoena the person to appear. 2) For the charging function, a grand jury must determine that probable cause exists to believe that an individual has committed a crime before the person can be charged for the crime. Grand juries make the preliminary decision of whether or not to officially accuse a criminal defendant and compel him or her to stand trial. Grand jury indictments are required for all federal felonies. “At their core, grand juries are about finding probable cause that a crime has been committed,” says Danny Cevallos, CNN legal analyst. Unlike a typical trial, grand jury proceedings are not public and there is no cross-examination or presentation of the defense case. The jurors may ask questions and witnesses may not have lawyers present during the questioning. The grand jury will determine whether criminal charges should be brought at the end of the thorough investigation. Related article One year into the FBI's Russia investigation, Mueller is on the Trump money trail Issuing grand jury subpoenas doesn’t signal that indictments are imminent or that Mueller has concluded there has been wrongdoing. The move is often simply a tool to allow a prosecutor to gather evidence or testimony. “What it means is that Mueller can now take sworn testimony in front of the grand jury and start subpoenaing people, asking people to testify, and of course if he gets enough evidence, he can now ask the grand jury for an indictment of people,” says Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst. It suggests Mueller is at least taking a preliminary next step – but it doesn’t mean there will be an indictment. “It is certainly a significant step that shows that he means business. It shows that he’s doing a serious criminal investigation, which he thinks should proceed. But it doesn’t mean that criminal charges are imminent nor does it mean criminal charges will ever happen,” Toobin said. Grand jury investigations can be long processes, lasting for months or years. The grand jury continues as the prosecutors chase evidence and leads to compile a case. The term grand jury is derived from the fact that it usually has a greater number of jurors than a trial jury. A grand jury typically consist of anywhere from 16 to 23 people, and the jurors may have to sit for months at a time. Grand jury proceedings remain secret. Related article As investigation intensifies, Trump crows to crowd Ty Cobb, special counsel to the President, said he wasn’t aware that Mueller had started using a new grand jury. “Grand jury matters are typically secret,” Mr. Cobb said. “The White House favors anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly… The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller.”

Robert Mueller's grand jury investigation


Jordan tourism numbers down, historic buildings at risk "Unfortunately we have some very noisy neighbors," says one Petra tour guide Tourism should be booming in Jordan but visitor numbers are down, historic buildings are in danger of collapse and hotels are struggling. The recent discovery of a massive new monument in the abandoned “Indiana Jones” city of Petra should be a cause for rejoicing but tourists are staying away from this peaceful Middle Eastern kingdom. “We are a very quiet country,” says Waleed Hyasat, who guides tourists around Petra.  “But unfortunately we have some very noisy neighbors.” At the turn of the new millennium Petra was receiving more than 700,000 visitors a year but the 21st century has been a turbulent time in the Middle East and nowadays the average visitor figure hovers near 425,000. Hyasat says he’s thinking of emigrating to the United States if tourism doesn’t pick up. Petra is Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction, its world-famous heritage status enhanced by being the setting for the finale of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” In June satellites and archeological survey drones revealed a huge ceremonial platform to the south of the ancient city center. It’s as long as an Olympic-size swimming pool and twice as wide. READ: 17 signs you might be in Jordan Nobody knows what it was used for but archaeologists around the world are excited. Could this be the discovery that finally unlocks the meaning of the Middle East’s most enigmatic city? Petra was a great trading capital city in 7th century BC. It was founded by an Arab tribe known as the Nabataeans who abandoned it a thousand years later. Fortunately their massive buildings, carved top to bottom into the cliff face, were preserved from destruction, hidden down a narrow valley. For more than 1,000 years Petra was forgotten by the outside world. It was only rediscovered by Europeans in 1812 when a Swiss explorer was led down the valley by local Bedouin. Since then its mysterious buildings have become Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction. Without oil reserves Jordan is heavily reliant on tourism, which contributes 15% to its GDP. But things started to go wrong after the first Gulf War. READ: 10 reasons to visit the Middle East’s most easygoing country Marguerite van Geldermalsen, a New Zealand-born nurse who married a Bedouin souvenir-seller from Petra at that time, has seen the tourist business decline, first after the 1990-91 conflict then after September 11, 2001. “Since 2010 the Arab Spring and the civil war in Syria have had bad effects too,” she says. “Every time things calm down something happens and our visitor numbers always suffer.” Today Van Geldermalsen sells jewelry made by local Bedouin women from her stall opposite Petra’s amphitheater. “People here are dependent on Petra bringing in lots of tourists. It’s not much fun for visitors to see sad looking vendors”. At the Kempinski Ishtar, a luxury tourist hotel north of Petra, general manager Sebastien Meriette insists Jordan is a safe place to visit. “But we’re surrounded by chaos and this affects international tourism,” he says. “Before the Arab Spring 70% of guests were international and 30% local. Now it’s 40% international and 60% local. Russian tourists still come but Jordan is not regarded as safe in the States.” MORE: ‘Massive’ monument found in ancient Petra Meriette is French and admits that when he came to Jordan he was unsure about bringing his family with him. But he’s found the country tranquil even as he’s watched business decline by 15% in the last decade. “And this hotel is doing well compared to the others!” he adds. Mohammad Abdelaziz, curator of the Petra Archeological Park since 1988, says the dip in tourist numbers has also affected development and stabilization of the site. “Petra has been on the World Heritage List since 1985 and we were voted second of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, but the dip in income from tourism means there’s no money for development,” Abdelaziz says. “We still get missions. This year Brown University is excavating but the funding for these digs is usually international.” With visitor numbers down Abdelaziz admits there isn’t enough money for maintenance. “The Great Temple itself needs stabilizing but when you consider in the Petra area we have Stone Age, Iron Age, Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader and Marmeluke sites, it’s obvious Jordan cannot fund its own heritage.” At the moment archaeologists believe that more than 80% of Petra is yet to be uncovered, which is why finding the great platform in June 2016 was such an exciting development. But there are local moves to involve the community and make Petra less dependent on outside resources. Aysar Akrawi is a small gray-haired woman who helped set up the Petra National Trust in 1989 to ensure the preservation of the site. “We’re not archaeologists or conservationists but we will get involved if no one else is doing it,” Akrawi says. Since 2009 Akrawi has been running a “young ranger” project to involve local teenagers in the preservation of Petra. READ: 9 modern architectural wonders of the Mideast “Yes, we were employing local people but we had not started involving the community,” she says. “Jordanians were not identifying with their environment. The rocks of Petra were a source of income for them – not of identity.” Akrawi and her team of local volunteers run popular courses to help teenagers identify with their heritage. They study wider issues like confrontation resolution and very specific courses directed at vandalism and graffiti. “Jordanians are a very gentle people but even they say, ‘why can’t we manage Petra ourselves?,’” Akrawi says. “They don’t want to feel that we helicopter in everything from Amman. It is this marginalization of people in rural areas that has given support to groups like ISIS in the Middle East.” According to Akrawi, “With 60% of the Jordanian population under 25, training up young Jordanians to look after their country’s heritage is the first step if we want to change our country.” Shahed Qassem is 12-years-old. Every weekend she takes a two-hour bus journey to Petra to study and refers to the historic city as her mother. “I feel that I have been a very neglectful daughter and now I wish to look after my mother.” With outsiders still wary of the Middle East it may be people like Qassem who will hold the future of Jordan’s historic sites. READ: Traveler’s Choice: The world’s best museums for 2016 Adrian Mourby is an Oxford, UK-based novelist and broadcaster.


Programming note: No royal wedding invitation? Not to worry. You can stream every moment on your mobile phone, laptop, or wherever you get CNN, starting at 5 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 19. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding has been overshadowed by her father’s reported decision not to attend, but another relation is emerging as a player in the royal drama. Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle made headlines this week after she said their father, Thomas Markle, would not attend the wedding on Saturday because of embarrassment over a series of staged photographs, which she encouraged him to take. Since then he’s reportedly changed his mind about attending the ceremony more than once, and now seems set to miss it to undergo scheduled heart surgery. In recent days, Samantha Markle has given a series of television interviews and earned the moniker of media “vulture” from “Good Morning Britain” host Piers Morgan. A child from Thomas Markle’s first marriage, Samantha Markle is a 53-year-old mother of three and a former actress and model who lives in Florida. She uses a wheelchair because she suffers from multiple sclerosis, according to a report in the UK’s Sun newspaper. The reason Thomas Markle is being vilified Meghan’s father ay not attend wedding due to surgeryMeghan, Harry ask for privacy for father Meghan is rewriting the princess storyHow Meghan will use her royal voice The reason Thomas Markle is being vilified Meghan’s father ay not attend wedding due to surgeryMeghan, Harry ask for privacy for father Meghan is rewriting the princess storyHow Meghan will use her royal voice Seventeen years older than Meghan, Samantha Markle has claimed she raised her half-sister for 12 years when they were growing up in California, but that has been disputed by other family sources, the report added. The elder half-sister is also known as Samantha Grant, but recently changed her name back to Markle, according to the Guardian. Described in the British media as “estranged” from her half-sibling, Samantha Markle has said she has not met the royal bride-to-be for a decade. In recent interviews she said that she last spoke to Meghan by phone three or four years ago. Samantha Markle first made news in 2016 when she told the Sun her sister had long had her eye set on Prince Harry because she was ambitious to become a princess and had a “soft spot for gingers.” Since then she has regularly commented on the forthcoming marriage, criticizing Meghan for not inviting her and other family members to the wedding and not offering financial help to her reportedly bankrupt father. She has also rebutted Prince Harry’s claim that the royal family were “the family (Meghan) never had.” But she has also praised Meghan for her intelligence and beauty and criticized her brother – Meghan’s half-brother – Thomas Markle, Jr., for telling Prince Harry in an open letter that if the marriage goes ahead it will be the biggest mistake of his life. Samantha Markle is reportedly writing an autobiography titled “The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister,” which will include details about about her half-sister. British media reports say she will be in Windsor for the wedding as a guest of a television broadcaster.


The arc of Donald Trump’s universe is short and it bends toward annoyance. Witness Rudy Giuliani. The former New York City mayor has only been on the job as a member of the President’s legal team for 19 days and, already, the big guy is starting to chafe. Here’s CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak and Jeff Zeleny: Trump has grown irritated by Giuliani’s performances and the headaches he has caused as contradictory statements between the two flash across the chyrons on his screen. The President was initially pleased with his new attorney’s brashness, but that has steadily eroded as the parade of interviews has continued. Trump was irked by Giuliani’s interview on ABC News Sunday, particularly the clip of Giuliani refusing to rule out him pleading the Fifth Amendment, which has since played on a near-constant loop on cable television. Now, sub out “Giuliani” above and put in “Scott Pruitt.” Or “David Schulkin.” Or “Rex Tillerson.” Or “Tom Price.” Or “Steve Bannon.” Or “H.R. McMaster.” On and on it goes. And the pattern is crystal clear: Trump goes through a rapid boom/bust cycle with everyone who works for him that is not related to him. As his presidency has gone on, the time between boom and bust grows shorter and shorter. Giuliani is, again, instructive here. When he was brought onto Trump’s legal team – way back on April 19 – the President was enamored with him. Giuliani was a practiced hand at the cable TV battles. He had known Trump for years. They were peers – power-brokers from the only city that matters. Giuliani, puffed up by the President’s confidence in him, decides to go on Sean Hannity’s show. Safe ground, he figures, as Hannity has been without question the major cable TV personality most willing to do Trump’s bidding from the start. And then, perhaps overconfident and with his guard let down, Giuliani lets slip that Trump reimbursed his personal attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 hush payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels 11 days before the election. He also said that Trump had fired James Comey because the former FBI director had refused to promise the President that he wasn’t a target of the investigation into Russia meddling into the 2016 election. It was in that moment that Giuliani’s honeymoon period with Trump ended. (It’s sort of like the moment when Lisa breaks Ralph’s heart on “The Simpsons.”) Neither of them may have realized it in that moment, but the torrent of headlines that emerged from Giuliani’s disastrous interview were destined to spark Trump’s ire. The President hates two things most of all: 1) Bad headlines for him that he doesn’t generate and 2) People who work for him getting more headlines than him. The Giuliani situation checks both of those boxes. Rather than sit a few plays out, Giuliani just kept giving interviews – to CNN, the Washington Post, Buzzfeed and, hell, to The Hill. He talked and talked and talked. He promised that three American prisoners were being released by North Korea. (They haven’t been.) And then on Sunday he sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos – and said that he assumed Cohen made payments to other women like Daniels and that he couldn’t be sure whether Trump wouldn’t plead the 5th if called to testify by special counsel Robert Mueller. And now, this reporting from CNN and other outlets suggesting that Trump is souring on Giuiliani. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. (Literally. Just ask Scott Pruitt.) Giuliani may well survive this latest dip in the eyes of Trump.  While Trump tires of people quickly, he also loves the drama of a second act or a comeback. Or a third act.


Twenty-four hours after President Donald Trump dictated a dejected letter to Kim Jong Un canceling their June 12 meeting, he appeared to reverse course, telling reporters Friday the diplomatic encounter could still occur on the same date if conditions keep improving. Trump suggested the two sides were again speaking after an abrupt silence from North Korea prompted US officials to worry. White House aides were not halting some of the summit’s planning, which was already underway in Singapore. And in a tweet on Friday evening, Trump said the US is “having very productive talks with North Korea” about reinstating the summit, likely on the same date. “We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th., and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date,” Trump wrote. It was a sign the President hasn’t lost hope in the audacious foreign policy accomplishment he is eager to secure. Even as his aides express doubt the summit can be arranged in the next 18 days, Trump has told confidants and advisers he believes the original date may still hold. And he’s grasped at glimmers of hope, in this case a conciliatory statement from Pyongyang that expressed continued openness to talks. “It was a very nice statement they put out,” Trump said on the South Lawn before departing in his helicopter for the US Naval Academy in Maryland, where he was delivering a commencement address. “We’ll see what happens. It could even be the 12th. We’re talking to them now.” “They very much want to do it,” he continued. “We’d like to do it.” Related article Trump says North Korea summit talks continue: 'Could even be the 12th' While far from a sure thing, Trump’s remarks reflect new openness to reviving the talks, or at least rescheduling them. In his letter and during remarks on Thursday, Trump made clear the summit was off. But in conversations Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, Trump did not rule out restoring the meeting, according to people familiar with the conversations. A planned trip by US officials to survey summit sites, which the White House formally announced on Wednesday, was not canceled, according to a person familiar with the matter. During a briefing with reporters on Thursday, a senior administration official refused to comment on the logistics trip, which is led by deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin. But the official downplayed the likelihood of the summit proceeding on course. “The ball is in North Korea’s court right now, and there’s really not a lot of time. We’ve lost quite a bit of time that we would need,” the official said. “But there’s a certain amount of actual dialogue that needs to take place at the working level with your counterparts to ensure that the agenda is clear in the minds of those two leaders when they sit down.” “June 12th,” the official said, “is in 10 minutes.” That caution was absent in public remarks from US officials on Friday, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who told reporters the summit may be “back on.” “We have got some – possibly some good news on the Korea summit, where it may, if our diplomats can pull it off, may have it back on, even,” Mattis said before meeting with his Danish counterpart on Friday. He added that efforts to revive the June 12 summit are now in the hands of diplomats. “I’ll let them talk all they want, and then we’ll all hope and pray the diplomats pull it off,” he said. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters in the White House driveway a June 12 summit was “certainly a possibility.” “The President wants to have a meeting if it can provide real results and that’s what he’s said all along. It’s going to be great for the world and certainly be good for North Korea,” Sanders said. “We’re always going to be prepared and if the meeting takes place on June 12 we’ll be ready. If it takes place on July 12 we’ll be ready. We’re going to do whatever is necessary to prepare for that on that front.” Related article North Korea says it's still willing to meet Trump after US President cancels summit Overnight, North Korea released a statement reiterating its interest in talks, even as it acknowledged the relationship between Washington and Pyongyang had deteriorated. “We would like to make known to the US side once again that we have the intent to sit with the US side to solve problem(s) regardless of ways at any time,” said North Korea’s first vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim Kye Gwan, in comments published Friday by the country’s state-run news agency KCNA. Kim also said Trump’s decision was “not consistent with the desire of humankind for peace and stability in the world, to say nothing of those in the Korean Peninsula.” Trump awoke on Friday and welcomed the warmer language, which stood in sharp contrast to harsh statements over the past week that personally targeted US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence. Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea. We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace. Only time (and talent) will tell! “Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea,” Trump wrote Friday morning on Twitter. “We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace. Only time (and talent) will tell!” It wasn’t clear on Friday at what level US officials were speaking with their North Korean counterparts, or whether they were discussing the possibility of putting a meeting between Trump and Kim back on the schedule. The White House on Thursday cited a prolonged period of silence as one of the factors in scrapping the June 12 date. “We got a lot of dial tones,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Capitol Hill. Another US official told reporters that North Korean officials failed to show up to a planned meeting with US aides to discuss the summit’s logistics. “The North Koreans didn’t tell us anything, they simply stood us up,” the official said. Related article The collapse of the North Korea summit may have cost Trump his best issue After news the summit was called off, some Democrats criticized Trump for the decision. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday on Capitol Hill that the canceled summit was “a good thing for Kim Jong Un.” Pelosi said the meeting “takes knowledge, this takes judgment and clearly it takes preparation, which the President didn’t make.” “It’s clear he didn’t know what he was getting into,” the California Democrat said. “And now he’s walking away from it in this very chummy, palsy-walsy letter to Kim Jong Un. He, Kim Jong Un, is the big winner.” Trump on Friday claimed Democrats were “rooting” against his administration in its negotiations with North Korea. “Democrats are so obviously rooting against us in our negotiations with North Korea,” the President wrote on Twitter. “Just like they are coming to the defense of MS 13 thugs, saying that they are individuals & must be nurtured, or asking to end your big Tax Cuts & raise your taxes instead. Dems have lost touch!” Democrats are so obviously rooting against us in our negotiations with North Korea. Just like they are coming to the defense of MS 13 thugs, saying that they are individuals & must be nurtured, or asking to end your big Tax Cuts & raise your taxes instead. Dems have lost touch! On a White House-led conference call with political surrogates on Thursday, officials were “defensive” about the cancellation of the summit, according to a person familiar with the conversation. “They were a little defensive about suggestions that we got ahead of ourselves on the summit,” the person said, who described the administration’s representatives on the call “genuinely hopeful” the summit would eventually happen. Asked on Friday whether the North Koreans were playing him, Trump acknowledged they were – and suggested he was, too. “Everybody plays games. You know that,” he told reporters when asked about the ongoing talks. “You know that better than anybody.” CNN’s Jim Acosta, Veronica Stracqualursi, Jennifer Rizzo and Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.


With almost all of the votes counted in Russia’s presidential election, the state-run Russia Public Opinion Research Center published an exit poll that showed Vladimir Putin with 76.6% of the vote. While final results had yet to be released as Russians gathered in Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square for a Putin rally, it was clear that the Russian President was well ahead of the 63.6% he secured in the last election in 2012 – and on track to reach a widely reported goal of winning 70% of the votes cast. That means several things: Putin can claim a clear mandate for his next six years in office. And the Kremlin can argue that Russia’s system of managed democracy represents the genuine will of the people. Related article Russia's Vladimir Putin retains grip on power, exit poll shows That’s particularly key as Moscow escalates a confrontation with the West. Russia and the United Kingdom are in involved in a diplomatic feud over the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy, his daughter and a police officer in Britain earlier this month. And the Kremlin remains at odds with Washington after the United States hit Russia with new sanctions over its meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Several factors explain the Kremlin’s ability to get out the vote. For weeks in advance of the election, the government funded an intense messaging campaign meant to get Russians to the ballot box. Mobile-phone subscribers received SMS notifications reminding them to vote. Billboards and public-service announcements also reminded eligible voters to go to the polls. And on election day, it was clear that there were efforts to encourage turnout, although it was unclear if they were officially supported. At a polling station in central Moscow near the House of Government, the workplace of the Russian Prime Minister, employees of a construction firm told CNN that the company’s management provided transportation to the polls early Sunday. International election monitors had not weighed in on the vote Sunday evening. Ella Pamfilova, Russia’s top election official, told the respected business news outlet RBC that there had been a “relatively small” number of reported violations during the vote. But local election officials said they had confirmed an incident of ballot box stuffing in the Moscow suburb of Lyubertsy after studying video camera recordings, the state news agency TASS reported. And Golos, an independent watchdog group, said Sunday evening it has received over 2,700 reports of potential voting irregularities in Russia’s presidential election. As of late Sunday, it was unclear whether the Kremlin had achieved the magic “70/70” formula: A 70% voter turnout, with Putin winning 70% of the votes. Opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who had called for a boycott, declared a victory of sorts, saying: “If it had not been for our [independent] observers, there would have been 99% turnout. If it had not been for our observers , the turnout for Putin would have been 80%, and that would have given an opportunity to state that the ‘whole Russia stands for Putin.’” Related article Will Vladimir Putin ever release his grip on Russia? “One should not think that the people are more silly than they are. Putin stated that our country is a democratic one, that our courts are fair, but he is lying. Sobchak is lying as well, that is why the people do not vote for her,” he said, referring to Ksenia Sobchak, who was projected to win 2.5% of the vote. “One should honestly tell the people about poverty, the big gap in the income of the people,” added Navalny. But 70 is also a number that may hang over Putin’s next six years. Back in 2016, the respected business newspaper Vedomosti published a striking revelation: Between 2005 and 2015, the private sector’s share of the economy was cut in half In Russia. The report, based on a study by Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, found that the government and state-controlled companies accounted for 70% of economic activity. For some observers, the real question for Putin is whether he can now use his mandate to push for some program of economic reform. Writing last year, Carnegie Moscow Center Senior Fellow Andrei Movchan speculated that the government would not loosen its grip on the economy after the elections. “Judging by the current state of public opinion, future changes are likely to include stricter political control, further nationalization of private property, further shutting down the economic space, and new processes that make economic transactions in the country less sophisticated and more inefficient,” he said.


My entire life, I have been surrounded by really strong, powerful women. Two in particular. The first was my mother, an immigrant from the other side of the world who lived as a refugee for the first part of her life after fleeing the bloody India-Pakistan partition. When we visited her childhood home in 2014, I saw a remote dusty town with no running water, no paved roads and very little evidence of commerce. There were no hopes and dreams anywhere in sight, and simply surviving was the only success most would ever achieve there. Related video Dr. Gupta uncovers his roots in India By the age of 24, however, she was designing cars as the first woman hired in the United States as an engineer at the Ford Motor Co. The juxtaposition was staggering. The trajectory of her life seemed not just improbable, but impossible. And it was at that moment – standing with her in central Pakistan – that I understood why the word impossible was not allowed in the Gupta household. Never. Not with a mother like mine. Dr. Karin Muraszko hates that word as well. Born with spina bifida, an abnormality of the spinal cord, Karin had enormous difficulty walking her whole life and is now in a wheelchair. While she couldn’t hide her spinal cord abnormality, she never spent a lot of time talking about it. Instead, she came into the hospital earlier, stayed later and worked harder than everyone else. And that is saying something, because Karin is a pediatric neurosurgeon, a profession that required 100-hour work weeks during her training. Like my own mother, Karin not only overcame, but flourished – and did it on the conventional playground of men. Neurosurgeons all over the world know Karin is the first woman to ever become a chair of neurosurgery in the United States, at the University of Michigan. What they may not know, however, is that she decided to get her ears pierced on the same day she decided to become a neurosurgeon. No joke. Karin told me she didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that she was a woman first, and a neurosurgeon second. I know her story so well because I was one of the lucky ones to be trained by her. For seven years, during some of the most formative years of my life, Karin Muraszko was a mentor to me. At the time I dedicated my life training to be a brain surgeon, Karin was right there by my side. For a time, there was likely no one in the world who spent more time with me or knew me better than Karin Muraszko. She was the only one who noticed the subtle signs my blood sugar might be dropping while I was operating – and opened a Jolly Rancher candy and placed it behind my mask. It was Karin who knew I preferred apple over watermelon. We operated together for days on end. We saw hundreds of patients together, and all along, she taught me judgment, technique and compassion. She was the person I called when my confidence had been shattered, and my fortitude dissolved. She had no patience for whining, but she did take the time to remind me what my purpose was – as a surgeon, but also as a human. We all need someone like Karin in our lives – someone who tells you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear, and with a smile. Like my mother, Karin was always willing to share the lessons she had learned with a healthy dose of humility, while allowing me to earn her trust and feel truly valued. They both inspired simply by being who they were, sincerely and authentically. There is not enough of that in the world today, and yet I was fortunate to be surrounded by it. Yes, when asked who changed my life, the answer is women – strong, powerful, women. They have shaped me. They have challenged me. They have reminded me that sometimes it takes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to unleash the very best of ourselves. Perhaps most importantly, they have made me a better father to my own three daughters. I now remind my girls every day that there are no rules. There are no molds. Those are both made to be shattered. I tell my girls they can be whatever they want to be. No, nothing is really impossible. It is an audacious message, but achievable as well. And if they want proof, I just pick up the phone and call the women who changed my life. #MyLifeChanger: In a tweet or Instagram post, tell us about the mentor, family member or once-in-a-lifetime friend that helped shape your life.


Editor’s Note: Errol Louis is the host of “Inside City Hall,” a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. The explosive comments attributed to the former chief strategist to President Donald Trump –  and Trump’s blistering response to them – both capture and continue a level of chaos and infighting that could capsize the administration. On Wednesday, the President blasted Steve Bannon, saying, “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” after the Guardian reported on scathing quotes from the Breitbart News chief, detailed in a forthcoming book by Michael Wolff, about a Trump Tower meeting during the campaign. But even more important than the headline-grabbing insults and accusations lobbed by the two men is Bannon’s logical, cold-eyed recognition, reflected in his remarks to Wolff, that prosecutors are likely building a powerful legal case based on alleged financial misdeeds of high-level Trump associates. Much political commentary will now focus on Bannon’s scornful words about Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kusher, the Trump campaign officials who attended – and then dissembled about – a fateful June 2016 meeting with, among others, Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. Related video Trump unloads on Bannon: 'He lost his mind' “The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor – with no lawyers. They didn’t have any lawyers,” Bannon reportedly said scornfully to Wolff.  “Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s—, and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately.” Bannon’s comments – calling the meeting “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” – clearly contain an element of score-settling against the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.  The two were antagonists in the early months of the administration, with a feud that attracted widespread commentary by the Washington press corps while Bannon was in the White House and continued even after Bannon resigned. But beyond Bannon’s well-known disdain for Kushner lies a dire prediction about the legal peril faced by the President: “You realize where this is going,” he is quoted as saying. “This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose [senior prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to [President] Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr and Jared Kushner. … It’s as plain as a hair on your face.” All too true. The Department of Justice order that named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel empowers him to investigate possible Russian interference in the 2016 elections, but it also includes broad language allowing Mueller to prosecute any crimes discovered along the way. Related video Toobin: Bannon had a real 'axe to grind' The specific line – “The Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters” – is why Manafort is facing 12 counts including conspiracy, money laundering, making false statements and failing to disclose his status as the agent of a foreign government. Trump partisans often seize on the fact that the charges against Manafort do not specify a direct connection to Russian involvement in the 2016 election.  The President himself, in a recent interview, repeated 16 times that the evidence made public so far shows “no collusion” between his campaign and Russia. But Bannon, an ex-banker, is strongly hinting that Mueller’s incidental discovery of financial crimes will lead to severe legal problems for Kushner and Donald Jr. The special prosecutor’s path to try to nail President Trump, Bannon reportedly says in Wolff’s book, “goes through Deutsche Bank and all the Kushner s—. The Kushner s— is greasy. They’re going to go right through that. They’re going to roll those two guys up and say play me or trade me.” That sounds like a clear reference to the tangled web of tricky real estate deals that both Kushner and Don Jr. have been involved in.  The threat of prosecution for financial improprieties, Bannon seems to be saying, could put pressure on Kushner and Don Jr. to become cooperating witnesses in the Russia probe. Related video The ups and downs of the Bannon insurgency It’s not clear exactly what matters Bannon was referring to, but he clearly believes Trump Jr. is in for some rough times at the hands of the special prosecutor, predicting to Wolff:  “They’re going to crack Don Jr. like an egg on national TV.” Of course, Bannon’s remarkable, profane candor could all turn out to be hot air. A newcomer to politics, he pulled off the upset of the century by helping Trump – only to blow an all-but-sure thing when his chosen candidate, Roy Moore, lost the recent special election for Senate in Alabama. What remains to be seen is whether his cynical insider’s take on the legal and political problems of the White House is an accurate description of an administration under siege. “They’re sitting on a beach trying to stop a Category Five” hurricane, Bannon reportedly said. Things may not turn out as bad for the Trump administration as Bannon predicts. But if he’s even half right, it won’t be a day at the beach.


Call it a pop-up alliance. After spending much of this year berating each other after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over the Syrian-Turkish border, the two governments are suddenly the “honest brokers” of a ceasefire in Syria – one that is designed to lead to political negotiations. The United States, which has long championed the stuttering diplomatic process on resolving the Syrian conflict, is nowhere to be seen. The ceasefire – negotiated between Russia, Turkey and the Syrian government as well as Iran and Syrian rebel groups supported by Turkey – explicitly excludes factions deemed by the United Nations Security Council as “terrorists.” This rules out the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria that used to be known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the ceasefire was only the first step, with other documents signed on enforcing the truce and beginning peace talks. The Syrian military promised to cease operations nationwide at midnight Thursday. Here’s how the deal looks. Russian and Turkey are now driving what had been a UN-led political process. Each is responsible for bringing its own allies into the process: the Russians will bring the Assad regime on board and the Turks as many moderate factions as they can coax or cajole. Both sides envisage a rapid timeline, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying the Assad regime and opposition would meet soon in Kazakhstan, according to Turkish state media. Plenty can still go wrong, and recent history gives little cause for optimism. Putin acknowledged that “all the agreements reached are very fragile.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoğlu said Thursday that details on how to monitor the ceasefire and apply sanctions against those who breached it were still being worked out. And he insisted there would be no direct negotiations between Turkey and the Syrian government. But the intent is clear: peel off moderate rebel groups from the tacit alliances they have formed with radical Islamist groups in parts of Syria. Then crush the militant groups excluded from the process. And this is where, inevitably, things get complicated. The Russian Defense Ministry said influential Islamist groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam have signed up to the process. But the Syrian army has asserted that groups linked to Fateh al-Sham, of which Ahrar al-Sham has been the most prominent, will be excluded from the deal. One source in Ahrar al-Sham, which receives extensive support from Turkey, acknowledged that it is involved in the negotiations. But late Thursday the group said on its Twitter feed that it “has reservations about the proposed agreement” and had not yet signed. Its ultimate decision will be important. If Ahrar does sign up, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham will be isolated and vulnerable. The timing of the deal is critical. The Russian-Turkish entente has exploited the political transition in Washington, ignoring the Obama administration in its dying days and betting that the Trump administration will accept a process already under way. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already issued the invitation. “I would like to express the hope that as soon as the administration of Donald Trump takes office, they will also be able to join these efforts,” he said during a meeting with Putin in Moscow. Sergey Aleksashenko at the Brookings Institution says “Trump may believe that there isn’t a clear alternative at this point, since the Syrian opposition has not been able to unify or put forward a single leader.” The President-elect has expressed doubts about the reliability of moderate groups previously supported by the Obama administration and suggested his administration would consider joining Russia in the battle against ISIS in Syria. The critical event in bringing about the new entente between Moscow and Ankara was the fall of Aleppo. The Assad regime – along with its Russian and Iranian sponsors – turned the tide of the civil war in seizing complete control of the largest city, or what remained of it. Rebel groups – some of them supported by Turkey and the Gulf States – retreated in disarray. Their evacuation was negotiated between Russia and Turkey. Vladimir Putin held all the best cards, and it seems that Ankara decided to cash in its chips. It was not abandoning its allies among the Syrian factions, but refocusing its efforts on creating a “Turkey-friendly” region in northern Syria. In the process President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to kill two birds with one stone. Turkey has long been exasperated by US support for the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG. “Up to now, the US has given weapons to the YPG, full stop,” Cavusoğlu said Thursday. Washington sees the YPG as its battering ram against ISIS in northern Syria. Turkey sees it as a terror organization intimately linked to its own Kurdish insurgents, the PKK. A CNN team inside northern Syria earlier this year saw plenty of evidence of those links, including large posters of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in many Kurdish-dominated towns. The United States has denied supplying the YPG with weapons but says it provides tactical support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the umbrella group in which the YPG is the main component. One sign of the new cooperation between Russia and Turkey is the introduction of Russian air power this week to help groups allied to Turkey rid the strategic town of Al Bab in northern Syria of ISIS fighters. Another is the establishment of a hotline to monitor breaches of the new ceasefire. The Russia-Turkey axis may be a marriage of convenience, and there are some major hurdles to overcome. Turkey wants the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah – a key military supporter of the Assad regime – out of Syria. That will not sit well with Iran, which is also sponsoring the ceasefire process. Nor has Turkey abandoned its long-term goal that President Bashar al Assad must step down. That also remains the position of the Free Syrian Army, whose representative Abu Zeid said Thursday: “The fact that the negotiations are based on Geneva 1 [the UN-sponsored peace process] means that there is no place for Assad in Syria’s future.” In addition, some fighters with Islamist groups – especially in Ahrar al-Sham – may opt to join the resistance rather than lay down their arms. And the Gulf states – especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia – may decide to double down on their support for groups opposed to negotiations. Abu Zeid, who took part in the negotiations on behalf of the opposition, insisted Thursday: “Our message to the Syrian population is that our fingers will remain on the trigger.” But the truth is that armed and political opposition to the Syrian regime, shorn of its support from Ankara, has rarely been weaker since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began five years ago. And the most influential actors on the ground in Syria – Russia, Turkey, Iran and the Syrian regime – are, for now, all on the same page.

Russia-Turkey alliance on Syrian ceasefire


Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, warned against a potential conflict with North Korea “if things don’t change.” “If we have to go to war to stop this, we will,” Graham told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. “If there’s a war with North Korea it will be because North Korea brought it on itself, and we’re headed to a war if things don’t change.” Graham’s comments on CNN’s “The Situation Room” come amid rising tension between the US and North Korea, and on Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that North Korea had launched what the US military believes to be an intercontinental ballistic missile. President Donald Trump responded by telling reporters that, “we will take care of it.” Graham clarified that he doesn’t think war would be the best outcome but said the US won’t let Kim Jong Un have the ability to strike America’s mainland. “I don’t want a war. He doesn’t want a war,” Graham said, referring to Trump. “But we’re not going to let this crazy man in North Korea have the capability to hit the homeland.” Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Tuesday that the North Korean missile test went “higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken.” Mattis added that North Korea has the ability to hit “everywhere in the world basically.” Graham added that Trump is prepared to take whatever actions are needed to protect the US homeland. “He is ready, if necessary, to destroy this regime to protect America, and I hope the regime understands that if President Trump has to pick between destroying the North Korean regime and the American homeland, he’s going to destroy the regime. I hope China understands that also,” Graham said. CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Taehoon Lee and Ryan Browne contributed to this report


Hear someone say “Venice Beach” and visions of a not-yet-famous Jim Morrison soulfully crooning “Moonlight Drive” come to mind. But the artsy beachside neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles is more than the birthplace of the Doors. It’s a carnival of amusements, both bygone and bougie, and home to one of the country’s hottest tech hubs, Silicon Beach. It’s also one of the most expensive neighborhoods in L.A. The days of open-air drug markets and gang activity are over, and you’re more likely when you travel here to spot a hoodie-clad Snapchat developer than a beret-wearing beatnik. But don’t take that to mean Venice has lost its carefree bohemian spirit. “Venice is a very inspirational place that has very young ideas,” says Jason Ostro, owner of the Gabba Gallery near downtown L.A., “even though it’s becoming that ‘g’ word: gentrified.” And there’s always something to see, as evidenced by all the artistic activity. Here’s what the locals say to do when you get there: Venice muralist Jules Muck advises hitting the boardwalk well before sunrise. “Early in the morning is the best time to be there,” she says of the dreamy mile-and-a-half stretch by the Pacific Ocean. You’ll have the beach to yourself before the vendors arrive, and there’s something very restorative about sipping a warm cup of coffee while watching the waves. Espresso Yo’ Self (1827 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291; 1-(626)-673-7565), known for its cold-brewed Intelligentsia iced coffee, is a good bet. At the little window, order yours to go with a slice of wild whiskey bread pudding. Once you’ve fueled up, “just walking around the neighborhood is pretty entertaining,” says Muck, who likes exploring the trendy shops on Abbot Kinney, which has shed its gritty image in the past five years. Hit Aesop for aromatic cleansers worthy of Instagram, then pop into AUST. (1219 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291; 1-(310)-873-3303), owned by Aussie expat Hannah Wang, to browse the sweet selection of threads by rising designers from her home country. Hungry? First Fridays, held on the first Friday of every month, are a fine time to sample the goods from popular local food trucks like Pink Taco and Rice Balls of Fire. When you’re finished, follow the sugary smell of waffle cones to Salt and Straw (1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291; 1-(310)-310-8429), at the intersection of Abbot Kinney and California, where quirky ice cream flavors like honey lavender and almond brittle with salted ganache await. Related article 5 best downtown Los Angeles restaurants Shutters on the Beach (1 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90425; 1-(310)-458-0030), the 198-room luxury resort in Santa Monica about 12 minuArts Center at 26th Street (2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404; 1-(310)-453-7535). Be sure to sneak a peek at Shutter’s own private art collection – curated by Greenwald, naturally – which includes works by modernist masters like Robert Motherwell, Claes Oldenburg, Sam Francis and Yayoi Kusama. Craving a closer look at the art scene in Venice? Join Muck herself on a tour of the neighborhood’s murals as part of Shutters’ Beyond the Beach experience (inquire to learn more), or strike out on your own by wandering down the Venice Beach Boardwalk between Navy and Rose Avenue. Created by the Social Public Art and Resource center, it’s one of nearly two dozen murals that cover about three miles in the neighborhood. Braving the Abbot Kinney crowd for a table at Travis Lett’s Gjelina (1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291; 1-(310)-450-1429) isn’t great. But if you can stand it, you’ll be well rewarded with gourmet pizzas, a serious wine list, juicy rib-eye and a leafy back patio that looks like a wood cabin crossed with a McMansion. The bustling hotspot offers some excellent people-watching as well. Not up for pizza? Drop by Hama Sushi (213 Windward Ave., Venice, CA 90291; 1-(310)-396-8783), also known as Sushi Central, given the fact it’s been serving fresh sushi at the same Windward Ave. location for almost 40 years. Order whatever’s fresh and watch the surf videos playing outside. Or just grab dinner at Superba Food + Bread (1900 South Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291; 1-(310)-907-5075), housed in a former auto body shop on Lincoln Avenue and run by Paul Hibler. You can’t go wrong with the house-baked bread or anything that comes served on toast. Related article Curtis Stone has the recipe for a great L.A. day Ready to see Morrison’s favorite hangout? Head to Hinano Café (15 Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292; 1-(310)-822-3902) for the chill vibe, free popcorn and jukebox, says Muck. Just be wary of the sawdust floor and bring cash for the legendary burgers – they don’t accept credit cards. When you’ve finished your beer, head toward the end of Washington “for a down-home experience,” says Muck. “Watching the waves at night is really pretty.” Jill Krasny is a writer based in New York. Follow her on Instagram @jkrasny.


Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif touched down in Moscow on Monday morning as part of a series of international diplomatic meetings aimed at saving the Iran nuclear deal following the United States’ withdrawal. Zarif will be discussing the agreement with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Monday. It follows a visit by the Iranian diplomat to Beijing on Sunday where he stressed the importance of keeping the accords, which were signed in 2015 with the aim of both halting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and stimulating the country’s economy. Lavrov and Zarif will discuss the “possibility of preserving the Iran nuclear deal,” according to Russian state media agency TASS. Moscow has previously stated its strong support for the agreement. Related video Bolton: European countries could be sanctioned US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 the US would be withdrawing from the deal, which was signed under former President Barack Obama, saying it was “defective at its core.” Trump also said he planned to reintroduce the highest level of economic sanctions on Iran. But other countries around the world, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom, have said they would like to keep the original deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), in place. In Beijing, Zarif met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who reiterated Beijing’s support for the deal, according to state media Xinhua. “China will take an objective, fair and responsible attitude, keep communication and cooperation with all parties concerned, and continue to work to maintain the deal,” Wang said, adding the agreement was “hard-earned.” Under the 2015 deal, Iran would reduce its ability to enrich uranium and allow inspections by an independent agency in return for the lifting of strict sanctions which were choking the country’s stagnating economy. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said Germany, France and the United Kingdom had 60 days to provide Iran *with enough guarantees to ensure it could* stay in the deal, according to IRNA. Related article Trump dumps Iran nuclear deal: What you need to know Zarif will meet with the foreign ministers of the three European countries in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15 to discuss the future of the deal. A number of top Iranian officials and politicians have threatened in the past week to restart the country’s nuclear program following Trump’s decision to leave the deal. “The President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been tasked with taking all necessary steps in preparation for Iran to pursue industrial-scale enrichment without any restrictions,” Zarif said on Friday. But European leaders have been working hard to mollify Tehran – UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday to assure him of her support for the deal. “She said it is in both the UK and Iran’s national security interests to maintain the deal and welcomed President Rouhani’s public commitment to abide by its terms, adding that it is essential that Iran continues to meet its obligations,” a UK government spokesperson said in a statement. During the call, Rouhani said the US decision to withdraw from the deal was “unlawful” and “irresponsible.”


EU president promises action 'within days' if concerns not met Russia says the bill risks worsening relations with the US The European Union has delivered a stern warning to the US over a plan to impose new sanctions on Russia, opening up the prospect of a rift between the two allies over how to deal with Moscow’s foreign interventions. EU President Jean-Claude Juncker said the bloc would act “within days” if it does not receive reassurances on the potential impact of new sanctions on European interests. Russia also reacted angrily, saying the sanctions bill passed by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday risked worsening the already poor relations between the two countries. The bill, drawn up largely in response to Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election, calls for new measures against Russia, North Korea and Iran. It also limits any effort by the White House to weaken such penalties. Related article Russia sanctions: What you need to know The EU has previously coordinated with the US over sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. But it fears the latest measures could hit companies that are involved in the financing of a controversial new pipeline, Nord Stream 2, that would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. Juncker said the bill could have “unintended unilateral effects” on the EU’s energy security. “This is why the Commission concluded today that if our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days,” Juncker said. “America first cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last.” Germany, which strongly backs the new pipeline, said it was concerned over the sanctions. It would be “unacceptable for the United States to use possible sanctions as an instrument to serve the interests of US industry policies,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said Wednesday. Related video Russian leaders lash out at US sanctions France called the US bill “unlawful” due to its “extraterritorial reach,” saying it could impact Europeans if enacted. “We have challenged similar texts in the past,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “To protect ourselves against the extraterritorial effects of US legislation, we will have to work on adjusting our French and European laws.” If the bill clears a vote in the US Senate, it then heads to the desk of US President Donald Trump. It is not clear if that will happen before Congress breaks for summer recess at the end of the month. Trump has not indicated whether he will sign the bill, which also gives Congress a way to block any easing of new sanctions against Russia, North Korea and Iran, as well as older ones against Russia. The House action came hours after Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser, was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee about the 2016 campaign and allegations that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian officials to help defeat his opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump’s presidency has been dogged by questions his campaign’s ties with Russia and his pre-election promises to improve relations with Moscow. The Trump administration and the Russian government have consistently denied collusion. READ: Does US North Korea Sanctions bill risk China relationship? Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned that “the authors and sponsors of this legislation are taking a serious step towards the destruction of prospects for normalizing relations with Russia,” according to state news agency Tass. Ryabkov said the plan “does not fit the framework of common sense” but insisted Russia was “not succumbing to emotions” in its response. Related article Sanctions won't get the job done “We will work to find ways to move forward, persistently, consistently looking for ways of searching for compromise on issues, which are significant for Russia and, I think, for the US,” he said. The Kremlin said the proposed sanctions bill was “sad news in terms of Russia-US relations” and for the “prospects of their development.” “This is no less disappointing from the point of view of international law and international trade relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. But he added that Moscow would wait to form a full opinion until the draft becomes law. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said his country would respond to the US new sanctions, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. “The US is continuing hostility towards Iran and Iran will definitely respond to US sanctions,” Rouhani reportedly said during a cabinet meeting Wednesday. He did not say how Tehran would respond. The European Union expressed frustration that it had not been consulted over the new proposals. “New sanctions should always be coordinated between allies,” EU President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. The EU and the US imposed coordinated sanctions in 2014 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.  President Barack Obama  imposed further sanctions in late 2016 over alleged interference in the 2016 US election. Sanctions were also imposed under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which targets Russians whom the US considers human rights abusers. The latest set of sanctions against Russia are intended to penalize its alleged election meddling, as well as its human rights violations, annexation of Crimea and military operations in eastern Ukraine. The White House has been sending mixed messages about whether it will support the bill, which represents a challenge to the President’s authority. “While the President supports tough sanctions on North Korea, Iran and Russia, the White House is reviewing the House legislation and awaits a final legislative package for the President’s desk,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday. Related article Magnitsky lawyer: Will 'fight for justice' despite risk to life However, aides and members of Congress from both parties say that if Trump does decide to veto it, there will be sufficient votes to override the veto and enact the bill into law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ridiculed the sanctions and called on countries, particularly the United States, to drop them. Moscow rejects claims it interfered in the US election process, insists its annexation of Crimea was legal and denies direct involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. CNN’s Yon Pomrenze reported from Moscow and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Mary Ilyushina, Amir Daftari and Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.


The widely expected move culminates a series of similar decisions from the Trump administration The termination will come with an 18-month delay The Trump administration will end protections for certain nationals of El Salvador, a move that could leave more than 200,000 immigrants who have lived in the US more than 15 years without any legal status, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday. Related article Decision today could spell deportation for these 250,000 immigrants The termination will come with an 18-month delay, as the administration also recently did in ending other recent Temporary Protected Status for other countries. That time will allow individuals who have lived under the status to either seek other means of staying in the US or prepare to leave. The delay means the more than 250,000 TPS protectees will have until September 9, 2019, to either find a different way to stay in the US or prepare to leave. The widely expected move culminates a series of similar decisions from the Trump administration to substantially curtail the use of Temporary Protected Status – a protection from deportation and authorization to live and work legally for nationals of countries that have suffered a disaster such as war, an epidemic or natural disasters. Related article New DHS secretary faces first immigration litmus test The DHS says more than 250,000 Salvadorans – all of whom are required to have lived in the US continually since 2001 – are covered by TPS. Previous estimates by the department have put the number who will most likely be left without other protections around 200,000. The administration has pushed to strongly curtail the use of TPS, a protection provided for by law, saying that the repeated extensions of the typically two-year protections by previous administrations of both parties have ended the “temporary” piece of the status. DHS has made an effort to emphasize that TPS depends on the original reason for the designation, not current conditions. In El Salvador’s case, that was a devastating series of earthquakes prior to its designation in 2001. In a call with reporters, a senior administration official said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen decided the termination was “required” given that the original disaster that precipitated the status has been resolved enough to terminate the protections. Officials on the call repeatedly dismissed questions about the violence and economic conditions that persist in El Salvador, including the MS-13 gang that has been a top target of this administration, saying those factors are irrelevant to the decision. Critics immediately slammed the decision. “They have resettled, established their families and lives here in the United States. Most of them see themselves much more as American citizens than Salvadoran citizens and to end that protection and program is going to disrupt many communities across the United States,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, said on CNN Monday. “It’s inhumane and not consistent with American values.” The criticism wasn’t limited to Democrats. Florida Republican and immigration reform advocate Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart quickly released a statement in “strong disagreement” with the administration. “These innocent people fled their home country after a disastrous earthquake, and while living conditions may have slightly improved, El Salvador now faces a significant problem with drug trafficking, gangs and crime,” Diaz-Balart said. “Since 2001, these people have established themselves in the United States, making countless contributions to our society and our local communities. It would be devastating to send them home after they have created a humble living for themselves and their families.” The issue will now be kicked to Congress. Senate negotiators are discussing potentially including a deal to end the diversity lottery, which is a top target of President Donald Trump, in exchange for some resolution on TPS, according to Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. “We can deal with diversity visa, if we pair it with TPS, doing some kind of reallocation visas there,” Flake told reporters on Friday.


US Secretary of State arrives in India as part of a multistop tour across the Middle East and South Asia Tillerson expected to address a number of issues, including regional relationships with Afghanistan, China and Pakistan The Trump administration’s South Asia strategy is in the spotlight this week, as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in New Delhi after stops in Kabul and Islamabad. Tillerson landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport late Tuesday night local time, and Wednesday will hold meetings with Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A rising and increasingly assertive China, as well as America’s future plans for war-torn Afghanistan, are among the issues that are likely to top the agenda, say analysts. Here are the key issues to watch out for. Although he isn’t visiting Beijing on this trip, China is set to be a key talking point during the secretary of state’s visit to India. Tillerson indicated as much last week, when he contrasted India with China in a speech in Washington. “The driving force of our close relationship rests in the ties between our peoples – our citizens, business leaders, and our scientists. … We’ll never have the same relationship with China, a nondemocratic society, that we can have with a major democracy,” he said on October 18. The warm words for New Delhi come as China carves out its One Belt, One Road project, economic and infrastructure projects that span more than 68 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa. “The rise of a more capable and assertive China remains the single most important driver of the growing partnership between Washington and Delhi,” Constantino Xavier, a fellow at Carnegie India, a think tank, said in an email. The friendly tone toward New Delhi also predates the Trump administration, as the US sought to cultivate India as a bulwark against China. “There’s a huge element of continuity in all of this. All presidents from Bill Clinton onwards, all of them have strongly supported an India-US relationship,” said Ajai Shukla, a defense analyst and former Indian military officer based in New Delhi. “This is equally true of Indian prime ministers, irrespective of ideology and irrespective of strategic orientation.” Another major issue: Afghanistan, which remains in the grip of a bloody, 16-year conflict. In August, speaking at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, US President Donald Trump renewed the US military commitment in Afghanistan, while also calling on India and other regional players for more support in bringing stability to the country. Related video Tillerson addresses Trump's Afghanistan plan “We appreciate India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade from the United States and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development,” he said. India has a longstanding partnership with Afghanistan, supplying about $2 billion in aid, namely in developmental and infrastructural projects. But New Delhi is not about to get involved militarily, says Shukla. “Every statement from both sides has been oriented towards the understanding that India will step up humanitarian aid and developmental projects.” India’s longtime rival Pakistan, where Tillerson stopped on Tuesday, is also likely to feature in his conversations in New Delhi. Although Trump called out Pakistan for giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror” in his speech in August, he recently appeared to shift tack, tweeting effusively about the relationship with Islamabad after Pakistani forces helped rescue an American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children held captive by a Taliban affiliated group. Related video Former Pakistan official on Trump and Afghanistan As Tillerson headed to South Asia, there was also news that Pakistan was extending the detention of Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind behind the devastating 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, sidestepping a potential political banana skin that could have erupted during Tillerson’s visit. “[His arrest] took place because of a realization within the Pakistan army that Hafiz Saeed was endangering Pakistan’s insistence that it was not supporting terrorist groups. What we saw was a change in the Pakistani strategic projection,” Shukla said. “The factors that are driving this, which is Trump’s pressure, India’s pressure, all of these issues are keeping Pakistan towards that change in strategic orientation.”

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to India


President Donald Trump told people Monday that he has settled on Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn as the new director of the White House’s National Economic Council, according to a source familiar with his conversations. The President is known to change his mind at the last minute, and decisions are rarely final until they have been formally announced, but this is his latest thinking on Cohn’s replacement. Trump has spoken to Kudlow multiple times over the past week, a separate person familiar with the matter said, but Kudlow hasn’t been formally offered the job yet and hasn’t decided whether he would accept it. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Kudlow also declined to comment. Related article US allies are upset. The top economist quit. Trump doesn't care. Kudlow’s selection would be especially noteworthy because he is an avid free-trader who is firmly opposed to the sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that the President signed last week – against the advice of Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and some of his own advisers. Trump suggested last Thursday that he wouldn’t replace Cohn with someone who is similarly opposed to tariffs, which were one of the principal reasons that Cohn resigned. “I don’t know if I could put him in that same position or not. He’s not quite as strong on those tariffs as we want,” Trump said. Kudlow, an economic analyst who informally advised Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, penned an op-ed in the National Review with two others urging the President to rethink his decision on tariffs before he signed them. Kudlow later suggested during a radio interview that the tariffs were “basically gone,” with the exception of China and “a few other countries.” “Canada is exempt. Mexico is exempt. Australia is exempt. I guarantee you, all of Europe is going to wind up being exempt, and I bet you our allies in Asia will wind up being exempt. China may be the only one,” Kudlow said. But the President values people who can make the rounds on cable television to defend the administration, as Cohn often did.


Join national security contributor Mike Rogers for the CNN Original Series “Declassified” on Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT. Clear, colorless, tasteless, odorless and deadly. Sarin – which weapons inspectors say has been used in chemical attacks in Syria – is a poisonous liquid that can easily evaporate and change to gas, rapidly spreading throughout the immediate environment. It’s classified as a “nerve agent,” which is defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents.” Nerve agents work like insect-killing insecticides, the CDC says. But they’re much more potent. Although it dissipates quickly, sarin presents a short-lived threat through skin contact, eye contact, or inhalation. Mild or moderately exposed people often recover completely, while those who are severely exposed to sarin are not likely to survive. Nerve agents disable an enzyme that the body uses as a kind of “off switch” for glands and muscles, according to the CDC website: “Without an ‘off switch,’ the glands and muscles are constantly being stimulated. Exposed people may become tired and no longer be able to keep breathing.” During the 1990s, terrorists used sarin in Japan for attacks in public places. Syria’s military was first accused in 2013 of using sarin to attack civilians, including children. The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention arms control treaty, signed by more than 160 nations including Syria, made producing and storing sarin illegal in 1997. Here’s a brief time line of this frightening, invisible killer: Sarin is developed in Germany as a pesticide. The US military secretly tests sarin in the Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve on the island of Hawaii. The testers detonate sarin-filled 155mm artillery shells to study how the nerve agent disperses in a tropical jungle. The Pentagon confirms the “Red Oak” program in November 2002. Sarin and other nerve agents may have been used in chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq War. On “Bloody Friday,” the Iraqi air force attacks the northern Iraq town of Halabja with poisonous gases that were thought to include sarin, VX and other deadly compounds. Reports indicate that 5,000 people die in the attack. Countless others suffer eyesight loss, respiratory ailments and cancers. In Japan, seven people die and more than 500 are hospitalized when the Aum Supreme Truth (or Aum Shinri Kyo) cult releases sarin from a truck by driving slowly around an apartment complex in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. Another victim dies in 2008. The Aum Supreme Truth cult, now known as Aleph, places plastic bags of sarin on trains that converge in the Tokyo government district during rush hour. Thirteen people die and more than 5,000 become ill. A coalition convoy in Baghdad finds sarin gas in an artillery round that had been rigged as an improvised explosive device. The IED detonates as officials attempt to defuse it. Two members of the explosive ordinance team suffer minor exposure. The US Army releases a report to Congress stating that allied forces have recovered approximately 500 munitions containing degraded mustard or sarin gas since 2003. The weapons were produced before the 1991 Gulf War and many experts believe the sarin would no longer be dangerous. Katsuya Takahashi, 54, the last fugitive suspect in the 1995 sarin attacks on the Tokyo subway, is captured by Japanese police, ending a 17-year manhunt. Then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announces that Syria has used sarin on a small scale, killing 150 people in the country. A new alleged chemical weapons attack kills more than 1,000 people in the Syrian countryside outside its capital, Damascus. Hundreds of those killed are children. Then-US Secretary of State John Kerry announces that samples of blood and hair taken from eastern Damascus have “tested positive for signatures of sarin.” United Nations weapons inspectors return “overwhelming and indisputable” evidence of the use of sarin in Syria, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, calling the findings “beyond doubt and beyond the pale.” Read the report. The UN releases a report that indicates Syrians may have been exposed to a sarin-type gas in 11 instances. The UN bases its report on a publication by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Source of the gas and those responsible for its use are being investigated. An airstrike on a rebel-held town in northwestern Syria leaves 89 civilians dead, including children, from a suspected chemical attack, using sarin gas. The US, Turkey and other Western states blame the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who vehemently denies the accusation. The following week, UK scientists claim to have evidence that sarin gas, or a similar substance, was used based on samples tested from victims. Investigations continue to confirm the gas used and those responsible. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announces that samples taken from the attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun matched those from a previous incident, and that the evidence provides proof that the Syrian regime is responsible for carrying out the attack on April 4.