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FBI Director James Comey waits before testifying at a House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Washington U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm on Tuesday by firing FBI Director James Comey, who had been leading an investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign's possible collusion with Russia to influence the election outcome. It’s left the FBI reeling and while some Republicans are defending the firing, Democrats likened the dismissal to President Richard Nixon's firing of an independent special prosecutor during the Watergate investigation. Timeline: FBI Director Comey’s year of controversy Today, Trump will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House to discuss Syria and a wide range of international issues. It will be the highest-level contact between Trump and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin since Trump took office on Jan. 20. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis criticized what he called a destabilizing Russian military build-up near Baltic states and officials suggested the United States could deploy Patriot missiles in the region for NATO exercises in the summer. Eight U.S. lawmakers, all but one a Democrat, met with the Dalai Lama and delivered a blunt message to China that they would not relent in their campaign to protect human rights in Tibet, even as President Donald Trump's administration has appeared to shift its focus away from human rights.
A pupil yawns as he waits for Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to visit the Pangbourne College near Reading, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Business European shares pulled back on Wednesday from 21-month highs after strong earnings while the dollar fell on concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump's dismissal of his FBI chief could make passage of his tax reform plans more difficult. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the U.S. economy will fall short of the Trump administration's goal of 3 percent growth this year and will only achieve that when its regulatory, tax, trade and energy policies are fully in place. Like most big retailers, Wal-Mart relies on computer programs that scan prices on competitors' websites so it can adjust its listings accordingly. A difference of even 50 cents can mean losing a sale. But a new tactic by Amazon to block these programs - known commonly as robots or bots - thwarted the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer. Eight Democratic senators asked U.S. regulators to launch an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn’s activities in the U.S. biofuels blending credit market, saying the activist investor may have violated trading laws since becoming an adviser to President Donald Trump. For the world's super-rich, the investment of choice is increasingly a very rare naturally pink diamond, an asset class that this year has set records at auction. A decline in subscribers and higher programming costs at cash-cow ESPN weighed on shares of Walt Disney on Tuesday, overshadowing a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street estimates.
South Korea South Korea's new liberal President Moon Jae-in was sworn in on Wednesday and vowed to immediately tackle the difficult tasks of addressing North Korea's advancing nuclear ambitions. In his first key appointments, Moon named two liberal veterans with ties to the "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with North Korea from the 2000s to the posts of prime minister and spy chief.
Venezuela Venezuela's opposition protesters are preparing to throw feces at security forces, adding to the customary rocks, petrol bombs and tear gas. "They have gas; we have excrement," reads an image floating around social media to advertise Wednesday's "Shit March," the latest demonstration in a six-week wave of unrest. | 
