China, Russia listening to Trump phone calls: Report
Washington, Oct 25 : US spy agencies have determined that China and Russia are "eavesdropping" on President Donald Trump's phone calls, according to a news report by a prominent American daily.
"Chinese spies are often listening these phone calls and putting to use invaluable insights into how to best work the president and affect administration policy," The New York Times said citing unnamed current and former US officials.
Trump, the daily said, uses iPhone to make calls to his friends. He has refused to give this up, despite repeated requests by his officials, who have been asking him to make more use of the secure land lines.
"American spy agencies, the officials said, had learned that China and Russia were eavesdropping on the president's cell phone calls from human sources inside foreign governments and intercepting communications between foreign officials," the daily said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a question regarding the report.
According to the daily, US intelligence officials have determined that China is seeking to use what it is learning from the calls how Trump thinks, what arguments tend to sway him and to whom he is inclined to listen to keep a trade war with the United States from escalating further.
"In what amounts to a marriage of lobbying and espionage, the Chinese have pieced together a list of the people with whom Mr Trump regularly speaks in hopes of using them to influence the president," the officials said, according to the newspaper.
"Russia is not believed to be running as sophisticated an influence effort as China because of Trump's apparent affinity for President Vladimir Putin," a former official told the daily.
The New York Times said Trump typically relies on his cellphones when he does not want a call going through the White House switchboard and logged for senior aides to see.
"Many of those Mr Trump speaks with, most often on one of his cellphones, such as hosts at Fox News, share the president's political views, or simply enable his sense of grievance about any number of subjects," the daily said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
