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US President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but that a "major, major conflict" is possible. China's foreign minister called for negotiation and dialogue. The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss North Korea on Friday and will consider further measures to counter its nuclear and missile programmes. The country has made several military shows of strength in recent weeks but a missile it was testing failed. America sent warships to the region and began installing a controversial anti-missile system in South Korea earlier this week. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would negotiate with North Korea with a view to removing nuclear weapons from the country, not changing the government. He told NPR radio in the US: "We do not seek regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula. "We seek a denuclearised Korean ...

US President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but that a "major, major conflict" is possible. China's foreign minister called for negotiation and dialogue. The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss North Korea on Friday and will consider further measures to counter its nuclear and missile programmes. The country has made several military shows of strength in recent weeks but a missile it was testing failed. America sent warships to the region and began installing a controversial anti-missile system in South Korea earlier this week. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would negotiate with North Korea with a view to removing nuclear weapons from the country, not changing the government. He told NPR radio in the US: "We do not seek regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula. "We seek a de...

Ultra-runner Mina Guli winced in pain in the middle of a cow paddock. Bandages wrapped around her beaten feet, she contemplated the "holes" where her toenails used to be. She was back in her native Australia, but emotionally Ms Guli felt a long way from home. Why am I doing this, she asked herself, of her attempt to complete 40 marathons in 40 days across six continents. But Ms Guli resolved to work through the pain. She laced up her running shoes, pulled on her shorts and shirt, and "got the miles done". "It wasn't a pretty day, there were lots of tears but I got through it," Ms Guli tells the BBC. "I don't run because I enjoy running, I run because I want to raise awareness about water issues." The lawyer-turned-conservationist is nearing the end of a 1,687km (1,048 miles) journey designed to highlight the amount of water used in consumer goods. "Only 5% of our water that we use is in our household consumption - the...

So much hype, so much on the line, so many opinions. Around 90,000 people will pack into Wembley Stadium on Saturday to see IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua attempt to add the vacant WBA belt to his collection when he faces the division's once dominant force Wladimir Klitschko. A 14-year age gap between the 27-year-old Briton and a fighter he once assisted as a sparring partner means some pundits have styled the bout as apprentice meets master. See More  Trump immigration court defeat is 'bananas', says White House But it's Joshua who starts as odds-on favourite. Does he justify that status? BBC Sport asked some familiar faces from the world of boxing about how they see things shaping up and, of course, we want your verdict too. You decide... Vote Who will win Saturday’s heavyweight world title fight? "With the age aspect of Klitschko, he doesn't have the legs, the power that he used to. There are a lot of different facto...

A San Francisco judge has placed January's executive order in limbo, but the White House is vowing to appeal. San Francisco and Santa Clara County sued in February. The Trump administration has warned so-called sanctuary cities they could lose federal funds if they do not co-operate with federal immigration officials. On Tuesday, Judge William Orrick issued a temporary injunction against the presidential order as the case continues in the courts. Has Trump kept his campaign promises? "It's the 9th Circuit going bananas," White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said, in reference to the San Francisco-based appeals court, which conservatives often accuse of liberalism. Mr Trump's measure cast doubt on the transfer of some $1.2bn (£940m) for San Francisco and $1.7bn to Santa Clara County, home to many Silicon Valley communities. It is another legal defeat for President Trump in his efforts to curb immigration - his plan to curtail t...

The president's close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must pass by Friday. Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built. He reportedly told a private meeting with members of the conservative media on Monday night that he might be open to funding the wall later in the year. And Ms Conway confirmed to Fox News that the wall does not need to be funded this week, but remains a "very important priority". Why might US government shut down - again? Trump comes up against a wall - Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor It was the centrepiece of the Trump election campaign. There was going to be a border wall, and at every rally he woul...

Former campaign aides, fundraisers and others with ties to President Trump and Vice President Pence have attracted dozens of new lobbying clients in Washington, raking in more than $2.2 million in lobbying fees in the first months of the administration, a USA TODAY analysis shows. Brian Ballard, a longtime Florida lobbyist and a fundraiser for both Trump’s campaign and inaugural committee, appears to lead the pack, signing up 20 federal clients since opening his Washington lobbying operation this year. His company, Ballard Partners, has earned more than $1.1 million in a three-month period, new lobbying reports show. Ballard is one of more than a dozen White House allies launching new firms, taking new jobs in lobbying firms or signing up new clients this year as companies and other interests look for ways to shape policy in the Trump administration. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to drain the special-interest swamp in Washington. In a statement, the White House...

Obama aides push back against criticism of inaction on Syria - Former Obama administration officials are pushing back against criticism of the former president, saying they proposed similar airstrikes in Syria to the ones President Donald Trump ordered this week, but were stymied by a Republican-controlled Congress reluctant to go along with the Democratic president's plan. This comes after Trump ordered the missile strikes against Syria without getting congressional approval, determined to punish the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons against civilians. Trump laid part of the blame for the chemical attack on former President Barack Obama, saying the deaths were a "consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution." Republicans, however, who controlled Congress then as they do now, were adamant that Obama should not act without their approval, Obama aides said. Trump also had called for Obama to get congressional approval befo...

Syrian jets take off from air base hit by US -  Two Syrian jets took off today from the air base that was hit by U.S. missiles and carried out strikes on areas under ISIS control in the countryside of eastern Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian government responded to Thursday night's U.S. strike on its Shaayrat air base by quickly fixing the base and allowing the two planes to take off from there, the human rights organization said. A U.S. official said Syrian planes took off from the base today but did not confirm the action taken by the plane. The official noted that up to 20 Syrian aircraft were destroyed in Thursday's airstrikes but added that the missiles did not no target every aircraft at the base and that the runway was untouched. The departures came after Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned today that the United States is "prepared to do more" in Syria, one day after U.S. warships fired a ba...

Rep. Devin Nunes is stepping aside from the House Intelligence Committee’s deeply troubled and highly politicized investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, removing another of the president’s key defenders in a scandal that shows no signs of abating. “I believe it is in the best interests of the House Intelligence community to have Representative Mike Conaway … temporarily take charge of the Committee’s Russia investigation,” he said in a statement emailed to press. Nunes, who remains the committee’s chair, is insisting that the move is only temporary — a response to unspecified ethics allegations leveled by unspecified “left-wing activist groups” that will soon be resolved by the House Ethics Committee. But the very fact that Ethics announced publicly that it was investigating the charges, a relatively rare decision which requires Democratic and Republican support, suggests that legislators on both sides of the aisle want Nunes gone. And give...