WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Saturday denied access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, following through with U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would ban them from the building’s grounds. All three news outlets separately said their teams’ press passes were confiscated on Saturday morning when their journalists went to the White House. They have signaled that they may contest the ban on the grounds that it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press. A CNN statement on Saturday called the ban “an illegal assault” on its constitutional right to do journalism without interference from the government. In separate statements, MS NOW and Politico said they would “defend our First Amendment rights”.

 

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine was deliberately hindering talks aimed at ending the 4 1/2-year-old war and accused Kyiv of interfering in Russia’s parliamentary election. Putin, in comments to Russia’s Military-Industrial commission, also reasserted Moscow’s main defense aim of relying on its “nuclear triad” of weapons and said Moscow also had to move towards improving its anti-missile defenses.

 

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LUXEMBOURG CITY (AFP) - Luxembourg’s authorities were investigating drone sightings that forced the temporary suspension of operations at the nation’s main airport overnight, Prime Minister Luc Frieden said on Saturday. Frieden said Luxembourg was cooperating with NATO allies over the incident. He said the presence of “potentially bigger drones” in the country’s airspace had been observed “over the past few days” but it was too early to say where they had come from. “We are currently analyzing the situation,” the prime minister told a televised press conference.

 

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MANILA (AFP) - A China Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a refueling mission in the South China Sea on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said, in the latest confrontation between the two countries in disputed waters. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat was on a mission to distribute fuel to Filipino fishermen about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province. A China Coast Guard vessel carried out a series of maneuvers and made contact with the Philippine ship, damaging the supply vessel’s railings and deck structures but causing no injuries, the coast guard said.