Word briefs … Second Trump whistle-blower comes forward

WASHINGTON – A second whistle-blower has come forward, this one with first-hand information of the events that triggered an impeachment investigation of president Donald Trump for alleged abuse of power, the informant’s lawyer said on Sunday.

“I can confirm this report of a second #whistle-blower being represented by our legal team,” Mark Zaid said on Twitter. “They also made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against. This whistle-blower has first-hand knowledge.” Earlier on Sunday, Zaid’s co-counsel, Andrew Bakaj, said his firm and team “represent multiple whistle-blowers” in the case accusing Trump of using the powers of his office to pressure Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

LONDON – Boris Johnson urged French president Emanuel Macron to “push forward” to secure a Brexit deal and told him the European Union should not be lured into the mistaken belief that the UK would stay in the bloc after 31 October, the British prime minister’s office said. Johnson discussed his Brexit proposal, which has received a cool reception in Brussels, with Macron and Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa on Sunday. “This is the chance to get a deal done: a deal that is backed by parliamentarians and a deal which involves compromise on all sides,” a senior British government source said on Sunday. “The UK has made a big, important offer but it’s time for the Commission to show a willingness to compromise too. If not, the UK will leave with no deal.” With the 31 October deadline approaching, Johnson has consistently said he will not ask for another delay to Brexit.

SEOUL – North Korea said on Sunday there was no way the United States would bring alternative plans for their stalled nuclear talks to a meeting proposed by Stockholm in two weeks after weekend negotiations in Sweden broke down. The working-level talks between US and North Korean envoys were broken off on Saturday. The US state department said it had accepted Sweden’s invitation to return for more discussions with Pyongyang in two weeks. North Korea said the ball was now in Washington’s court, and warned Washington that it would wait only until the end of the year for the United States to change course. “We have no intention to hold such sickening negotiations as … happened this time (in Sweden) before the US takes a substantial step to make a complete and irreversible withdrawal of the hostile policy towards the DPRK,” KCNA state news reported.

MOSCOW — The Kremlin said over the weekend that Moscow’s move to help Beijing build an early warning system to detect missile attacks showed the two countries had a special relationship. President Vladimir Putin said Russia was helping China build an early warning system to spot intercontinental ballistic missile launches, a capability only Russia and the United States possess at the moment. “This is a very serious thing that will radically increase China’s defence capability,” Putin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say when the system would be operational, but told reporters on a conference call that the move highlighted Russia’s close ties with China. Moscow’s relations with Beijing have been marked by mutual wariness in the past and some in Russia are concerned about Chinese influence in the country’s sparsely populated mineral-rich east. – Nampa-AFP-Reuters