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Musings From Abroad

Trump ‘secretly recorded discussing payment to Playboy model’

US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded his client discussing payments to a former Playboy model, US media report

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US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded his client discussing payments to a former Playboy model, US media report.

The tapes were reportedly discovered during an FBI raid on Mr Cohen’s property earlier this year in New York.

The New York Times reports that on the recording Mr Trump and Mr Cohen discuss paying Karen McDougal, who says she had an affair with Mr Trump.

The tape was reportedly made two months before the election.

The Department of Justice is looking into alleged hush money paid to women who claim they had a relationship with Mr Trump.

Mr Cohen – who has not been charged – is reportedly under investigation for possible bank and tax fraud, as well as potential violation of election law. The president has said that Mr Cohen is no longer his personal lawyer.

On Friday, another Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed to the New York Times that the president had discussed the payments with Mr Cohen on the tape.

Read Also: Trial of spy who ‘offered sex for job’ puts strain on US- Russia ties

But he said no money was actually ever transferred, and the recording itself amounted to “powerful exculpatory evidence”

In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, Ms McDougal sold her story to the National Enquirer, which is owned by a personal friend of Mr Trump.
She says the $150,000 (£115,000) agreement gave the supermarket tabloid exclusive story rights and banned her from talking publicly about the alleged affair.

But the Enquirer did not publish her kiss-and-tell, and she says she was tricked.
The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump and Mr Cohen discussed possibly paying American Media Inc, the parent company of the National Enquirer, for the rights to Ms McDougal’s story.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the taped September 2016 conversation took place in-person rather than over the phone, and was cut off after less than two minutes, before the end of the conversation.

Federal investigators have reportedly demanded the tabloid’s records on the McDougal payment.

Musings From Abroad

Angola, Portugal sign 13-point pact spanning finance, law, others    

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Angola and Portugal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding including 13 different agreements that cut across financial, legal and other critical areas.

The Angolan President, João Lourenço, who received his Portuguese counterpart, António Costa on Monday, revealed that the country was enthusiastic about partnering with its erstwhile colonialist.

“I have to say that we sensed a great willingness to collaborate on the part of the Portuguese justice system, with whom we were able to exchange not only information but also the alignment of Angola’s anti-corruption strategy and to say that in principle everything that was asked of the Portuguese authorities so that we could find the right correspondent”, president Lourenço said.

The Portuguese president announced a rise in its financial commitment to Angola which is a top oil producer in Africa.

“To support the Angolan government’s ambition and strategic approach to diversifying the country’s economy, we have significantly increased the credit line from one thousand five hundred to two billion euros”, announced Costa.

The new agreement will run till 2027. The economies of Angola and Portugal are deeply intertwined, and the two countries share a language and cultural heritage.

According to consular statistics, approximately 100,000 Portuguese nationals work in Angola, with approximately 10,000 Portuguese firms operating in a variety of sectors such as construction, engineering, hospitality, law, and financial services.

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Musings From Abroad

Israeli PM, Netanyahu demands investigation over killing of soldiers in Egypt

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Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an explanation from Egyptian authorities following the reported killing of three Israeli soldiers by a member of the Egyptian security services.

He told his cabinet in televised remarks that “Israel relayed a clear message to the Egyptian government. We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.

“We will refresh procedures and methods of operations and also the measures to reduce to a minimum the smuggling and to ensure tragic terrorist attacks like this do not happen again.”

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack near Egypt’s border by a gunman wearing an Egyptian police uniform— the first deadly exchange along the border shared by the two countries in more than a decade.

According to the Israeli military, two soldiers were killed by an Egyptian policeman while securing a military post near the Egyptian border early Saturday. According to the report, the Egyptian officer and a third Israeli soldier were killed in a clash on Israeli territory hours later.

Israeli military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, while addressing journalists, said: “From that moment a terrorist event was declared, leading to sweeps of the area.”

He also revealed that “a drone was sent up and 1.5 kilometres inside Israel a suspicious person was identified.”

Egypt’s relationship with Israel is complicated and has evolved significantly over time. Despite having fought four wars, the two countries now work closely together, primarily on security issues.

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