Australian actor Cate Blanchett describes Donald Trump?s ascendancy as ?absurd and ridiculous? during a spot on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. ?The phallus seems an appropriate symbol for this country right now ? with tiny little balls,? she says

China attacks international court after South China Sea ruling Read moreBlumenthal said he believed there was now ?broad bipartisan support for trying to stem this expansionism, which is leading to effective Chinese control over the South China Sea?. At his first question and answer session with the press on Monday, Spicer again hinted Trump?s administration would take a harder line on the South China Sea. At a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, urged Washington to tread carefully ?to avoid harming the peace and stability of the South China Sea?. ?I think the most dangerous scenario was the one we were heading towards: a lot of tough talk on the South China Sea, but China continuing to encroach and the United States not really putting a lot of muscle behind the statements it was making.? In July 2016, a judgment by an international tribunal in The Hague came down overwhelmingly in favour of claims by the Philippines to rocky outcrops in the South China Sea, a verdict disputed by Beijing.

In 2006, the Congressional General Accountability Office concluded that the global gag rule, coupled with abstinence promotion, was impeding the global fight against HIV. And in 2011, researchers from Stanford University published striking evidence that the global gag rule had, perversely, increased abortion rates. All the failures, bureaucratic nightmares and -- yes -- increases in abortion rates will now follow the gag rule reinstatement. Laurie Garrett is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. We have been here twice before -- under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush -- and we know that this order often backfires, leading to increased abortion rates.

But already, Chinese leaders are angling to take the United States` place and expand the country`s influence in the region. In exchange, the United States had negotiated labor, environmental and intellectual property protections that major businesses sought. However, by pulling the United States out of the deal, Trump fulfilled a campaign promise. Best-case scenario for the United States: Nothing at all, since China wasn`t involved in the TPP. The task is difficult -- even though Trump`s move to withdraw from the TPP is likely to be politically popular.

Relations between China and the United States will inevitably deteriorate with Mr. Trump at the helm. On the bilateral front, a trade war between China and the United States seems likely under Mr. Trump. China is also poised to take a leading role in environmental policy, given Mr. Trump?s hostility toward climate agreements. And as much as Mr. Trump would like to freeze the forces of free trade, the world will keep globalizing. China has a chance to become a full-fledged superpower if it responds to the Trump presidency by opening up more to the world economically and politically.

While the Mexican president has opted for dialogue over confrontation, the building pressure, and perceived slights, could complicate his agenda. For a new American president, Mr. Trump is both well known in Mexico and widely disliked. After Mr. Trump?s victory, Mr. Videgaray?s fortunes revived and he became foreign minister. Calls began to come in from across the political spectrum for Mr. Pe?a Nieto to cancel his visit, and to respond with greater fortitude to the perceived menace from President Trump. It mattered little to Mexicans whether Mr. Trump?s order would receive congressional approval or the funding required to fulfill it.

Leaders in Iran and Iraq, two of the countries targeted by Mr. Trump?s order, issued furious denunciations on Sunday and vowed to take retaliatory measures. Pakistan, another country whose citizens have carried out attacks in the United States, also ducked Mr. Trump?s list. In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, Mr. Trump insisted that his policy was not a ?Muslim ban? and accused the news media of inaccurate reporting. In his order on Friday, whose stated aim is to keep extremists out of the United States, Mr. Trump invoked the Sept. 11 attacks three times. Yet in much of the Middle East, Mr. Trump is less likely to get such a scolding.

Protesters near the White House in Washington who are opposing President Trump`s executive order have been speaking to the BBC`s Rajini Vaidyanathan. The Trump administration is standing firm over its ban on immigration from seven countries despite court rulings and mass demonstrations.

Officials, she said, were ?kafkaesque? in their confused responses, adding that Trump?s order ?has already caused irrevocable harm, it has already caused chaos?. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, posted on Twitter that homeland security secretary John Kelly had assured him the court order would be followed. ?Eventually you could get to something like contempt, but I think we?re a long way from that.?Gelernt said that Saturday?s suits were the ?first step? in a broader challenge to Trump?s orders. Through a spokeswoman, House speaker Paul Ryan said he supported the ban and did not consider it a religious test. From Saturday into Sunday, hundreds attended rallies against Trump?s ?extreme vetting order? at 29 cities and airports across the country.

For now, Trump`s immigration order isn`t expected to directly hit political or economic ties with either country but it could bring longer-term social costs. "While Trump`s policies may not affect bilateral relations, it will certainly sway public perception, against the U.S," Arul Hadi Abdullah, Malaysia analyst at BowerGroupAsia, told CNBC in anticipation of the ban on Friday. Many expect Trump`s policies, perceived as unjust and discriminatory, could result in a decline of American soft power in Muslim-majority regions, which former U.S. leader Barack Obama attempted to carefully rebuild in the aftermath of the Bush regime. Politicians in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 28 million-strong population is Muslim, also voiced concern about the move. Syrian refugees were indefinitely banned, while refugees from the other six countries faced a three-month hold.

Embracing the term Persian ? evoking carpets, cats and antiquity ? was a way to avoid connotations of terrorism and fanaticism. New York Yemenis stunned by Trump`s ban: `I feel like somebody has killed me` Read moreThe apparent normality deceived. California?s Iranians, who often prefer the term Persian to distance themselves from Iran?s current leadership, form a thriving community with roots stretching back decades. Just another Saturday in Tehrangeles, a portmanteau of Tehran and Los Angeles coined by exiles and their descendants ? also known as Little Persia, a term so well established Google Maps recognises it. Overnight, many of the up to 500,000 Iranians and Iranian Americans who live in southern California felt as though the US border had clanged shut.

In a foreword to a Ladybird book on climate change published on Thursday and co-written by the prince, he described climate change as ?the wolf at the door? and said action ?must be urgently scaled up and scaled up now?. In 2012 Trump described climate change as ?created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive?. There is ?a sympathetic hearing? between Clarence House and the government on climate change with Charles?s views considered ?absolutely in line with government policy?. Barack Obama did not take tea on his last state visit, but China?s president, Xi Jinping, did. In parts of Whitehall Charles is now considered to be ?an extremely good asset? in helping maintaining the integrity of the 2015 United Nations climate change treaty.

The organiser of the Oscars has said it is ?extremely troubling? that the makers of an Iranian film nominated for an Academy Award may be barred from entering the US. The Salesman, directed by Asghar Farhadi, is nominated for best foreign language film at next month?s ceremony in Los Angeles. She wrote on Twitter: ?Trump?s visa ban for Iranians is racist. However, the decision by US president Donald Trump to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US has thrown into doubt whether the Iranian cast and crew can attend the awards show. He said the move was to allow for ?extreme vetting? and to ?keep radical Islamic terrorists out? of the US.

?If you actually get resettled in the United States, it?s literally like winning the lottery,? Limon said. Democrats labeled it a ?Muslim ban? and criticized it as inhumane. ?Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? Trump?s order also led French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to say the action was ?worrying? for France and Germany, according to Agence France-Presse. The order doesn?t list the countries but points to laws that cover those seven, which were provided by the White House.

ACLU: President Could Not Override the CourtA federal judge granted a temporary stay in President Trump`s executive order on extreme vetting and refugees. The decision blocks the Trump administration from removing refugees from the country

Making decisions, and investing, on bad assumptions is simply bad leadership. President Trump has "whipped up" a lot of popular anxiety with his claims about illegal Mexican immigrants and the need to build a border wall. Most border crossing illegal immigrants today are minors from Central America simply trying to stay alive. Most illegal immigrants are people from advanced countries, often with an education, who overstay their visa limits. The stated claim is Mexico is sending illegal immigrants across the border in droves.

Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York temporarily halted President Donald Trump?s sweeping executive order blocking the entry of Syrian refugees and imposing a de facto ban on travelers coming from several Muslim-majority countries. The legal action named Trump in his official capacity as president, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and other high-ranking officials. Although temporary, it represents the first constitutional setback faced by the new administration. The American Civil Liberties Union and refugee relief organizations had filed the action in federal court Saturday morning on behalf of two Iraqi nationals who were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, asking for a declaration that the order is unconstitutional and requesting an injunction to prevent its implementation.

May?s first trip to the White House had earlier been celebrated as a triumph, with Trump accepting a personal invitation to Buckingham Palace. Prime Minister Theresa May faces a political storm on her return from visiting Donald Trump for her repeated failure to condemn the U.S. president?s order limiting immigration from Muslim-majority countries. Nadhim Zahawi, an Iraqi-born Tory lawmaker, pointed out that the ban covered him and his wife. Only when journalists heckled her to answer for a second time did she respond: ?The United States is responsible for the United States? own policy on refugees.?Going into the White House, May knew that Trump?s policies toward Muslims were going to be a problem for her domestic audience. Another Tory, Sarah Wollaston, said Trump should not be invited to address Parliament in his state visit to London later this year.

It is offering those employees legal support regarding immigration. ? Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 28, 2017Uber told CNBC that it had 12 employees affected by the order, and is offering legal support. Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a memo to employees that nearly 200 employees abroad would be affected by the move. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them. In an internal memo obtained by CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees, "There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterday`s immigration order.

Immigration lawyers in New York sued to block the order, saying numerous people have already been unlawfully detained. The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. The executive order prompted fury from Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa who said it was humiliating and discriminatory. In Cairo, five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York on Saturday, sources at Cairo airport said. President Donald Trump`s sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries caused confusion and panic among travelers on Saturday, with some turned back from U.S.-bound flights.