Trump to chair UN Security Council session on Iran

Democrats vow 'sparks will fly' over Trump's Supreme Court pick

U.S. Senate Democrats plan to hammer President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over his views on abortion and presidential power in hearings starting on Tuesday, but the conservative judge looks likely to be confirmed.Trump's fellow Republicans hold narrow majority control of the Senate so they can approve Kavanaugh if they stay united. So far, there were no signs of defections, with the Senate likely to vote by the end of the month.The hearing, expected to last four days, gives Democrats a chance to make their case against Kavanaugh ahead of November's congressional elections.Kremlin dismisses Trump warning on Syria's Idlib"There will be sparks at this hearing. Sparks will fly, and there will be a lot of heat," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the judiciary committee that will convene the hearings, said on Friday.Trump nominated Kavanaugh, 53, to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27 at age 81. He is Trump's second nominee to a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest judicial body. Trump last year appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, part of his push to make the courts more conservative.Liberals are concerned Kavanaugh could provide a decisive fifth vote on the nine-justice court to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.US ‘repeating Churchill’s bungles’Without Kennedy, the court is now split 4-4 between conservatives and liberals. Kennedy was a solid conservative but sided with the court's liberals on some issues, including abortion and gay rights.Beyond social issues, Kavanaugh is also likely to face questions about his views on investigating sitting presidents and the ongoing probe led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.Kavanaugh spent four years working for Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel who investigated former Democratic President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Kavanaugh also spent more than five years working for Republican President George W. Bush.Trump warns Assad against ‘recklessly attacking’ IdlibIn 2009, many years after the Starr inquiry, Kavanaugh wrote a law review article saying presidents should be free from the distractions of civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and investigations while in office.As a judge, he has amassed a solidly conservative record since 2006 on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.With Senator John McCain's death, the Republican Senate majority shrank to 50-49, but McCain's replacement is likely be seated before a final vote on Kavanaugh, restoring the majority to 51-49 and providing the votes needed for confirmation.Liberal activists have pinned their slim hopes to block Kavanaugh on two Republican senators who support abortion rights: Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. So far, neither has indicated she is likely to oppose Kavanaugh.

Kremlin dismisses Trump warning on Syria's Idlib

The Kremlin dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to Syria not to launch an offensive in the opposition-held enclave of Idlib, saying on Tuesday that the area was a "nest of terrorism".Trump on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to "recklessly attack" the northwestern Syrian province, saying hundreds of thousands of people could be killed."Just to speak out with some warnings, without taking into account the very dangerous, negative potential for the whole situation in Syria, is probably not a full, comprehensive approach," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.The presence of the opposition in Idlib was undermining the Syrian peace process and making the region a base for attacks on Russian forces in Syria, Peskov added.Trump warns Assad against ‘recklessly attacking’ Idlib"A fairly large group has settled there and of course this leads to a general destabilisation of the situation. It undermines attempts to bring the situation onto the track of a political-diplomatic settlement," he said."We know that Syria's armed forces are preparing to resolve this problem," he added.Russia resumed air strikes in Idlib province on Tuesday after a hiatus of several weeks, according to a Syrian opposition member and a war monitor.A source has told Reuters that Assad is preparing a phased offensive to regain the province.The situation around Idlib will be one of the main items on the agenda when the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey meet in Tehran this week, Peskov told reporters on a conference call, declining to elaborate further. UN sees 'moment of truth' for Syria political processAssad sought peace with Israel in 2010: Kerry memoir

Trump warns Assad against ‘recklessly attacking’ Idlib

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad not to “recklessly attack” Idlib province amid reports of a potential military offensive by regime forces.“President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy,” Trump posted on Twitter.“Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!” he added.Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled from other cities that were attacked by the Assad regime’s forces.In May, Idlib was designated a “de-escalation zone” -- in which acts of aggression are expressly forbidden -- as part of ongoing peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana.Earlier Monday, Germany and France expressed concern about a possible major offensive in the region.Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who arrived in Damascus Monday for talks ahead of a planned trilateral summit on war-torn Syria, said the Al-Nusra and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist groups “must be cleaned out of Idlib”.

Ireland must respect US president's office when Trump visits: PM

The Irish government must treat the U.S. president's office with the respect it deserves when Donald Trump visits in November despite disagreeing with many of his policies, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said ahead of planned protests.Trump will travel to Ireland for the first time as president during a trip to Europe to attend a Nov. 11 commemoration in Paris of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War One, the White House said on Friday.The president's decision to take up an open invitation to Ireland in November "came a little bit out of the blue", said Varadkar, who as a minister was against extending an invitation to Trump before changing his mind when he became prime minister.A number of smaller opposition parties have begun organising protests to coincide with the visit.Journalists arrested over documents used in Northern Ireland documentary"I know a lot of people dislike him, a lot of people object to him, a lot of people disagree with a lot of his policies, just as I do in fact," Varadkar said in an interview with national broadcaster RTE late on Sunday."But he is the president of America and the relationship between Ireland and the United States is much more important than any Irish government or any U.S. administration and I think we have to treat his office with the respect that it deserves."Low tax Ireland is also a major beneficiary of investment by U.S. firms with almost 800 U.S.-based companies including major employers such as Google, Apple and Pfizer accounting for around 7 percent of the country's workforce.Trump will visit his golf resort in the west coast village of Doonbeg as well as Dublin during the brief trip, Varadkar said.The Irish Prime Minister will use an expected meeting with Trump to raise issues including trade, migration, human rights and Britain's exit from the European Union which is set to hit Ireland harder than any other remaining EU member."As you know, he's very supportive of Brexit and I once again want to explain to him why that's not the right position either for America or for Europe," said Varadkar, who met Trump in the White House in March.