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MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Britain pressed a manhunt on Thursday for a Libya-linked extremist network thought to be behind the deadly Manchester bombing as US President Donald Trump threatened to prosecute those responsible for leaking investigation details to the US media.

London reacted furiously after sensitive details about the investigation into Monday night's suicide attack which targeted young concert goers, killing 22 people, appeared in the US press.

With the row over intelligence-sharing escalating, a shellshocked Britain held a minute of silence to remember the victims of the latest Islamic State-claimed atrocity to hit Europe.

As more children were named as victims of the massacre, Libyan authorities detained the bomber's father and his brother while police in Britain carried out fresh arrests and raids.

After bowing their heads for the minute's silence, the grieving crowd in Manchester's St Ann's Square broke into a spontaneous rendition of "Don't Look Back in Anger" by the city's own Britpop band Oasis.

It was a message of defiance three days after Manchester-born Salman Abedi's attack on young fans attending a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

"It's like your own family just passed away, it's just so, so sad," 69-year-old Carmel McLaughlan told AFP, standing next to the sea of flowers filling the square. 

'Very wicked' 

As the nation mourned, Queen Elizabeth II visited children injured in the attack at a hospital in the northwestern city. 

"It's dreadful. Very wicked to target that sort of thing," she told Evie Mills, 14, and her parents.

Three days after the attack, some 75 people are still being treated in hospital, including 23 in critical condition, medical officials said. 

Twelve of the injured are under 16. 

Wednesday night's triumph by Manchester United at European football's Europa League final brought some much-needed smiles to a city in pain.

The club dedicated the trophy to those killed, while manager Jose Mourinho said they would gladly exchange it if it could bring their lives back.

Leaks 'deeply troubling' 

As investigators pushed ahead with the probe into the attack, British authorities were left "furious" by repeated leaks of material shared with their US counterparts that they said undermined the investigation.

In Brussels for a NATO summit on Thursday, Prime Minister Theresa May confronted Trump over the issue.

"She expressed the view that the intelligence sharing relationship we have with the US is hugely important and valuable, but that the information that we share should be kept secure," May's spokesman said.

Trump, who led NATO allies in paying respects to the victims, slammed the alleged leaks as "deeply troubling" warning that those responsible could face prosecution.

"The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling," Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.

"If appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

 Images obtained by The New York Times newspaper showed a detonator Abedi was said to have carried in his left hand, shrapnel including nuts and screws and the shredded remains of a blue backpack.

"We are furious. This is completely unacceptable," a government ministry source said of the images.

Brothers in arms 

University dropout Abedi, 22, grew up in a Libyan family that reportedly fled to Manchester to escape the now-fallen regime of Libyan dictator Muamer Qadhafi.

His father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem have been detained in Libya, with officials there saying the brother was aware of the planned attack.

They said both brothers belonged to the Daesh terror group, while the father once belonged to a now-disbanded militant group with alleged ties to Al Qaeda. 

Libya said it was working closely with Britain to identify possible "terrorist networks" involved. 

The bombing was the latest in a series of Daesh-claimed attacks in Europe that have coincided with an offensive on the extremist group in Syria and Iraq by US, British and other Western forces.

Libyan officials said Abedi's brother Hashem had been under surveillance for six weeks and said investigators had information he was planning "a terrorist attack" in Tripoli.

A relative told AFP that Abedi had travelled to Manchester from Libya four days before the bombing.

German police said Abedi made a brief stopover at Duesseldorf Airport, while a Turkish official said he had transited through Istanbul airport without saying where he was travelling from.

A source close to the family said Abedi wanted to avenge the murder in Manchester last year of a friend of Libyan descent, with his sister Jomana Abedi also telling the Wall Street Journal he was driven by a desire for revenge.

"I think he saw children — Muslim children — dying everywhere, and wanted revenge. He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge," she said.

Eight in British custody 

British officials said Abedi had been on the intelligence radar before the massacre.

Police announced two new arrests on Thursday, bringing the total to eight people in custody in Britain. A woman detained on Wednesday was released without charge.

Britain's terror threat assessment has been hiked to "critical", the highest level, meaning an attack is considered imminent.

Armed troops have also been sent to guard key sites, a rare sight in mainland Britain.

British Transport Police also said they were deploying armed officers on trains for the first time ever.

The attack was the deadliest in Britain since 2005 when four extremist suicide bombers attacked London's transport system, killing 52 people.

The bombing occurred just over two weeks before a snap election set for June 8.

MANCHESTER — The Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue packed with children was part of a network, the city's chief of police said on Wednesday as troops deployed across Britain to help prevent further attacks.

Police made four new arrests and searched an address in central Manchester. A source said investigators were hunting for accomplices who may have helped build the suicide bomb and who could be ready to kill again.

"I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating," police chief Ian Hopkins said outside Manchester police headquarters.

"And as I've said, it continues at a pace. There's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak."

 Earlier, Interior Minister Amber Rudd said the bomber, Salman Abedi, had recently returned from Libya. Her French counterpart Gerard Collomb said he had links with Daesh and had probably visited Syria as well.

Rudd scolded US officials for leaking details about the investigation into the Manchester attack before British authorities were prepared to go public.

The Manchester bombing has raised concern across Europe. Cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have suffered militant attacks in the last two years.

British-born Abedi, 22, blew himself up on Monday night at the Manchester Arena indoor venue at the end of a concert by US pop singer Ariana Grande attended by thousands of children and teenagers.

His 22 victims included an eight-year-old girl, several teenage girls, a 28-year-old man and a Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters.

Britain's official terror threat level was raised to "critical", the highest level, late on Tuesday, meaning an attack was expected imminently.

But, just over two weeks away from a national election, Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and political parties said they would resume campaigning in the coming days.

Soldiers on the streets

The Manchester bombing was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's transport network.

Rudd said up to 3,800 soldiers could be deployed on Britain's streets, taking on guard duties to free up police to focus on patrols and investigation. An initial deployment of 984 had been ordered, first in London and then elsewhere.

Soldiers were seen at the Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street residence and at London police headquarters at New Scotland Yard.

A source close to the investigation into the bombing told Reuters that the focus was on whether Abedi had received help in putting together the bomb and on where it had been done.

The BBC reported that security services thought the bomb was too sophisticated for Abedi to have built by himself.

Police arrested three people in South Manchester and another in Wigan, a town 27km to the west of the city on Wednesday, bringing the total number of arrests related to the attack to five. Police said they were assessing a package carried by the man in Wigan.

A man arrested on Tuesday was reported by British and US media to be Abedi's brother. A different brother was also arrested in Tripoli on suspicion of links to Daesh, local counter-terrorism police said.

Police also said that they had searched an address in central Manchester as part of the investigation.

In London, the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace, a draw for tourists, was cancelled because it requires support from police officers, which authorities decided was not a good use of police resources given the threat level.

Chelsea soccer club said it had cancelled a victory parade that had been scheduled to take place on Sunday to celebrate its Premier League title.

Several high-profile sporting events are coming up in Britain, including the soccer FA Cup final at London's Wembley Stadium and the English rugby club competition final at Twickenham on Saturday and the UEFA Champions League final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on June 3.

US leaks ‘irritating’

Britain also has a national election scheduled for June 8. 

All campaigning was suspended after the attack, although major parties said they would resume some activities on Thursday and national-level campaigning on Friday.

The government said a minute's silence would be held at all official buildings at 1000 GMT on Thursday.

Greater Manchester Police said they were now confident they knew the identity of all the people who lost their lives and had made contact with all the families. They said they would formally name the victims after forensic post-mortems, which would take four or five days.

The bombing also left 64 people wounded, of whom 20 were receiving critical care for highly traumatic injuries to major organs and to limbs, a health official said.

Rudd was asked by the BBC about the fact that information about Abedi, including his name, had come out of the United States before it was cleared by British authorities.

"The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again."

France, which has repeatedly been hit by devastating militant attacks since 2015, extended emergency powers.

MANCHESTER, England — A suicide bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester in what Prime Minister Theresa May called a sickening act targeting children and young people.

The Daesh terror group, now being driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western-backed armed forces, said it carried out the attack. Some experts discounted this, noting there was no evidence of direct involvement and that details of the Daesh claim — in two contradictory postings — contrasted with the British police account.

Police announced a 23-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the attack, carried out late on Monday evening as people began leaving a concert given by Ariana Grande, a US singer who attracts a large number of young and teenage fans. 

In a statement made outside her Downing Street offices after a meeting with security and intelligence chiefs, May said police believed they knew the identity of the bomber.

"All acts of terrorism are cowardly," she said. "But this attack stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives." 

The attack came less than three weeks before a national election.

The northern English city remained on high alert, with additional armed police drafted in. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said more police had been ordered onto the streets of the British capital. 

Monday’s attack was the deadliest in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London’s transport system in 2005. But it will have reverberations far beyond British shores.

Attacks in cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have shocked Europeans already anxious over security challenges from mass immigration and pockets of domestic radicalism. Daesh has repeatedly called for attacks as retaliation for Western involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. 

Witnesses related the horror of the Manchester blast, which unleashed a stampede just as the concert ended at what is Europe’s largest indoor arena, full to a capacity of 21,000. 

“We ran and people were screaming around us and pushing on the stairs to go outside and people were falling down, girls were crying, and we saw these women being treated by paramedics having open wounds on their legs ... it was just chaos,” said Sebastian Diaz, 19. “It was literally just a minute after it ended, the lights came on and the bomb went off.” 

A source with knowledge of the situation said the bomber’s explosives were packed with metal and bolts. 

A video posted on Twitter showed fans, many of them young, screaming and running from the venue. Dozens of parents frantically searched for their children, posting photos and pleading for information on social media.

“We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming,” Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.

“It was a huge explosion — you could feel it in your chest.”

World leaders expressed solidarity with Britain.

US President Donald Trump spoke with May by telephone and agreed the attack was “particularly wanton and depraved”, the White House said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it “will only strengthen our resolve to... work with our British friends against those who plan and carry out such inhumane deeds”.

Singer Ariana Grande, 23, said on Twitter: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.” 

May, who faces an election on June 8, said her thoughts were with the victims and their families. She and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, agreed to suspend campaigning ahead of the election.

Suicide bomber?

Daesh, while claiming responsibility on its Telegram account, appeared to contradict British police’s description of a suicide bomber. It suggested explosive devices were placed “in the midst of the gatherings of the Crusaders”.

“What comes next will be more severe on the worshippers of the cross,” the Telegram posting said.

It appeared also to contradict in part a posting on another Daesh account, Amaq, which spoke of “a group of attackers”. That reference, however, was later removed.

“It clearly bears the hallmark of Daesh,” said former French intelligence agent Claude Moniquet, now a Brussels-based security consultant, “because Ariana Grande is a young singer who attracts a very young audience, teenagers. 

“So very clearly the aim was to do as much harm as possible, to shock British society as much as possible.” 

Daesh supporters took to social media to celebrate the blast and some encouraged similar attacks elsewhere.

In March, a British-born convert to Islam ploughed a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing to death a police officer who was on the grounds of parliament. The man was shot dead at the scene.

In 2015, Pakistani student Abid Naseer was convicted in a US court of conspiring with Al Qaeda to blow up the Arndale shopping centre in the centre of Manchester in April 2009. 

Parents’ anguish

Desperate parents and friends used social media to search for loved ones who attended Monday’s concert while the wounded were being treated at six hospitals across Manchester.

“Everyone pls share this, my little sister Emma was at the Ari concert tonight in #Manchester and she isn’t answering her phone, pls help me,” said one message posted alongside a picture of a blonde girl with flowers in her hair.

Paula Robinson, 48, from West Dalton about 65 kilometres east of Manchester, said she was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the explosion and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from arena. 

“We ran out,” Robinson told Reuters. “It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teens to run with me.”

Robinson took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents, telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.

“Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children. There were lots of lots of children at the Holiday Inn.”

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN Security Council on Monday vowed to push all countries to tighten sanctions against North Korea as it prepared for a closed-door meeting called in response to the latest missile launch.

In a unanimous statement backed by the North's ally China, the council strongly condemned the test-firing on Sunday and instructed the UN sanctions committee to redouble efforts to implement a series of tough measures adopted last year.

The council also agreed to "take further significant measures including sanctions" to force North Korea to change course and end its "highly destabilising behaviour".

The US-drafted statement was agreed on the eve of the emergency meeting requested by the United States, Japan and South Korea to discuss a course of action on North Korea. 

The United States has for weeks been negotiating a new Security Council sanctions resolution with China, but US ambassador Nikki Haley said last week that no final draft text had been clinched.

"This is the same movie that keeps playing. He continues to test. We've got to do action," Haley told MSNBC television.

"You know, some say, 'Oh, but sanctions haven't worked'. First of all, when the entire international community speaks with one voice, it does work," she countered.

"It lets them know that they are on an island and we're all against them and that they need to correct their behaviour."

North Korea on Sunday launched the Pukguksong-2, described by Washington as a medium-range missile, from Pukchang in South Pyongan province.

It travelled about 500 kilometres before landing in the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's armed forces.

UN urges halt to tests 

The launch was the latest in a series this year as Pyongyang steps up its efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

"These actions threaten regional and international security," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We call on the DPRK [North Korea] to stop further testing and allow space to explore the resumption of meaningful dialogue."

The North, which says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion, later said it "flatly rejected" the UN statement, which had been drawn up by "the US and its followers".

The United States says it is willing to enter into talks with North Korea if it halts its nuclear and missile tests.

Sunday's missile test came as US President Donald Trump was on his first trip abroad, visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican, Brussels and Italy.

The latest missile tested uses solid fuel that allows for immediate firing, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

So far almost all the North's missiles have been liquid-fuelled, meaning they must be time-consumingly filled with propellant before launch.

Solid-fuel missiles can be fired far more rapidly, dramatically shortening the time available for any attempt to intervene and prevent a launch.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said "with pride" that the Pukguksong-2 was a "very accurate" missile and a "successful strategic weapon", KCNA reported, adding he "approved the deployment of this weapon system for action".

The launch "completely verified" the reliability and accuracy of the device and its late-stage warhead guidance system, KCNA said, adding the test results were "perfect".

The test-firing came just one week after the North launched a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang was capable of carrying a "heavy" nuclear warhead.

After that launch, the Security Council met to discuss tightening sanctions but there was no immediate concrete action.

During last week's closed-door meeting, China insisted that there be no mention of a resolution in remarks read by the council president at the end of the meeting, diplomats said.

North Korea has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year.

The Security Council adopted two sanctions resolutions last year to ramp up pressure on Pyongyang and deny leader Kim the hard currency needed to fund his military programmes.

CARACAS — Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro excoriated opposition protesters on Sunday for setting a man on fire during a demonstration, accusing them of targeting him for being pro-government.

"A person was set on fire, beaten up, stabbed... They nearly lynched him, just because he shouted out that he was a 'Chavista'," Maduro said, referring to the ruling socialist movement set up by his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Witnesses to the incident on Saturday afternoon, including a Reuters photographer, said the crowd had accused the man of being a thief. 

About 100 people, who had been participating in anti-Maduro protests, surrounded him, doused him in gasoline and set him alight in Plaza Altamira in east Caracas, the witnesses said. 

Though some in the crowd said he should die, others helped him and the man survive.

Showing a video of the incident on state TV, Maduro identified the man as Orlando Figuera, 21, saying he was being treated in hospital for severe burns. 

Images from the scene showed him running near-naked with flames on his back. 

"Burning a person because he seems as a Chavista is a hate crime and a crime against humanity," Maduro said on his weekly TV programme, also showing another video of someone being beaten up, as well as images of protesters throwing Molotov cocktails.

The 54-year-old president says protesters are seeking a violent coup against him with US help, and are increasingly persecuting "Chavistas" at home and abroad. 

Earlier this week, he compared it to the Nazi treatment of Jews.

"Venezuela is facing... a coup movement that has turned into hatred and intolerance, very similar to Nazi fascism," he reiterated on Sunday.

Venezuela's opposition says Maduro has become a dictator, wrecked the OPEC nation's economy, caused desperation by thwarting an electoral exit to the political crisis, and unleashed repression and torture on protesters. 

"Maduro, Murderer!" can be seen daubed on roads and walls in many parts of Caracas. 

The main demand of opponents, who now have majority support after years in the shadow of the ruling Socialist Party, is for a national vote. 

But authorities blocked an opposition push for a referendum last year, delayed state elections, and are resisting calls to bring forward the next presidential election scheduled for late 2019. 

Attacks abroad

Most opposition marches are now turning violent when security forces block their way, with masked youths from a self-styled "Resistance" movement hurling stones and petrol bombs at lines of national guard troops who use teargas and water cannons to turn them back. 

Even before the latest spasm of political unrest, Venezuela was already one of the world's most violent countries, with an average last year of 60 homicides per day, according to the government. 

Lynchings have become commonplace, killing about one person every three days.

In six weeks of anti-Maduro unrest, at least 47 people have died, including supporters of both sides, some bystanders, and members of the security forces. 

Both sides quickly publicise and condemn violence from the other side, while often underplaying wrongdoing within their own ranks.

The government is particularly upset at harassment of officials and their relatives, accused by foes of enjoying the fruits of corruption.

One recent video showed the daughter of Jorge Rodriguez, a powerful government mayor who is a hate figure for the opposition, walking along an Australian beach being screamed at by two bystanders: "Thanks to your father, people are dying in Venezuela."

Another video appears to show a former minister sitting at a bakery in Doral, Florida — heavily populated with anti-government Venezuelan emigrants — being harangued by other customers, who chant "Get Out!" and force him to leave. 

A Twitter feed is even available that lists government supporters abroad, with photos of them and their friends, places of employment and study.

Many in the opposition accuse members of government of illegally enriching themselves and their families, allowing them to travel the world and enjoy luxury hotels while Venezuelans suffer a crippling recession at home, having to skip meals and queue in hours-long lines at shops. 

The issue has divided opposition supporters, many delighting in seeing "Chavistas" squirm while others say it is wrong. 

"It's not morally or politically correct to harass the children of officials," opposition leader Freddy Guevara, a hardline proponent of street resistance, said recently, adding that it would discourage children from criticising their parents as several have done recently. 

BERLIN — Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) raised pressure on conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, saying if she could not resolve a row with Turkey over access to the Incirlik Airbase, German troops should move.

Merkel’s defence minister, tacitly admitting the possibility said she had been looking for other locations and hinted that Jordan could be one. 

Turkey, which has refused permission for German lawmakers to visit their troops at Incirlik, has said Berlin is free to move its soldiers from the base. That would, however, be a significant snub to a NATO ally.

Already strained bilateral ties have deteriorated further over Incirlik where roughly 250 German soldiers are stationed as part of the coalition against the Daesh terror group militants.

“If Mrs Merkel doesn’t succeed at the NATO summit on Thursday to get Turkey to change course, we need alternative bases,” Thomas Oppermann, head of the SPD parliamentary group told Bild am Sonntag.

The SPD, or Social Democrats, trail Merkel’s conservatives in polls four months before the national election. It is desperate to score points with voters on issues other than social justice, its main focus in the last couple of months which has so far failed to resonate.

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen is looking at alternatives, including Jordan and Cyprus, and said on Saturday she had been impressed with a possible base in Jordan but stressed the government had not yet made a decision.

Merkel is vulnerable on relations with Turkey as critics accuse her of cosying up to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who last month won sweeping new powers in a referendum, as she needs his help to control the flow of migrants to western Europe.

The SPD, junior partner in Merkel’s right-left coalition, also tried at the weekend to raise its profile on European issues.

Leader Martin Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament, has tried to ally himself with new pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron and on Saturday said he would model his campaign on the Frenchman’s. 

On Sunday, he told a rally in Bavaria it was time for a “new German-French initiative for a socially fair Europe of growth”. 

A week after a disastrous election defeat in Germany’s most populous state, an Emnid poll showed the gap widening between Merkel’s conservatives, up 1 percentage point at 38 per cent, and the SPD, down 1 point at 26 per cent.

RIYADH — President Donald Trump was taking off on Air Force One when the latest bad news pinged into the inboxes of his besieged staff — a report that he had told Russian officials that fired FBI Director James Comey was “a nut job”.

Officials on board the Riyadh-bound presidential plane scrambled to coordinate with staff in Washington and those who had just landed in the Saudi capital for a response to The New York Times story about Comey.

A second bombshell came from The Washington Post, which reported that a federal investigation about Russian contacts with the Trump campaign last year had reached a current White House official, who was not named.

White House Chief-of-Staff Reince Priebus sought to play down the reports of disarray. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Priebus said Trump had spent the flight reading newspapers, meeting with national security advisers and other staff, getting briefed about the trip and getting a little sleep.

But the sense of frustration was clear. Presidential aide Dan Scavino captured the mood of confrontation, seizing on a comment from Trump’s nemesis in the 2016 Republican presidential race, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who called Trump a “chaos president” for all the bad headlines of late.

Scavino fired back by reviving the derogatory nickname Trump had given Bush last year to raise doubts about his energy level and ultimately defeat him.

‘People get hysterical’

Trump’s nine-day tour takes him to four countries. White House staffers, shell-shocked from the daily barrage of bad news, were soldiering on, trying to keep the focus on a trip that could bring some significant achievements.

“We’re focused on that. The media will talk about what they talk about and people will get hysterical about what they get hysterical about but there’s a lot of people who are not focused on the day-to-day horse race and they are just making sure that the president’s objectives are followed through on,” a senior aide told Reuters.

It will be Trump’s longest time away from the White House since he took office on January 20.

He is joined on the trip by some aides who have squabbled in the past but who have sought to set aside their differences to try to advance the president’s agenda, such as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and senior strategist, Steve Bannon.

Trump’s agenda has been sidetracked by the hubbub over his firing of Comey and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Russia ties.

“I think this foreign trip is something they’re all looking forward to because it changes the narrative. It buys them a little time,” said a Republican close to the White House.

While Trump has privately vented about his staff, the source doubted there would be a major staff shakeup in the near-term.

The source said there might be some adjustments in the communications team to enable the White House to respond much more swiftly to the news.

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Thursday called the situation in Venezuela a "disgrace to humanity" and said the deadly political crisis was possibly the worst of its kind in decades.

"We haven't really seen a problem like that... in decades, in terms of the kind of violence that we're witnessing," Trump told a press conference with visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

"People don't have enough to eat. People have no food. There's great violence. And we will do whatever is necessary and we will work together to do whatever is necessary to help with fixing that.

"What is happening is really a disgrace to humanity."

 Shortly thereafter the US Treasury slapped sanctions on eight members of Venezuela's supreme court, charging them with undermining the deeply divided country's democratic legislature in support of a corrupt government.

Trump's comments came one day after the Venezuelan government announced it was sending more than 2,500 troops to a trouble-hit region on the border with Colombia to try to quell weeks of violence that have claimed 44 lives nationwide.

Despite its vast oil reserves, Venezuela is suffering chronic shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies. The centre-right opposition blames it all on mismanagement and corruption in the Socialist government. 

President Nicolas Maduro in turn blames sabotage by the "bourgeois" opposition, which he says is backed by Washington. 

"When you look at the oil reserves that they have, when you look at the potential wealth that Venezuela has, you sort of have to wonder why is that happening, how is that possible?" said Trump.

"It has been unbelievably poorly run for a long period of time, and hopefully that will change and they could use those assets for the good and to take care of their people," he said.

Tough sanctions 

The Treasury Department sanctions were Washington's toughest action yet signaling support for hundreds of thousands of protestors seeking Maduro's tight grip on power.

The announcement followed a series of rulings since mid-2016 in which the court usurped the national assembly's powers in support of Maduro.

The sanctions freeze any assets the country's most powerful judicial figures may have in US jurisdictions and lock them out of much of global banking. 

"The Venezuelan people are suffering from a collapsing economy brought about by their government's mismanagement and corruption," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

"Members of the country's supreme court of justice have exacerbated the situation by consistently interfering with the legislative branch's authority," he said.

"By imposing these targeted sanctions, the United States is supporting the Venezuelan people in their efforts to protect and advance democratic governance in their country."

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez took to Twitter to reject the US-imposed measures, calling them "outrageous and unacceptable".

 She said the sanctions are proof of "the US authority and leadership in the destabilisation of Venezuela".

 The Treasury cited recent supreme court rulings that have allowed Maduro to rule by executive decree, exempted the government from submitting its budget to the legislature, and taken away from the legislature the power to appoint the national electoral council.

In March, the court stripped parliamentary immunity from members of the national assembly and moved to assume legislative powers for itself. Those decisions have since been partially reversed.

The eight named for sanctions include the president of the supreme court, Maikel Moreno, and the seven principal members of the court's constitutional chamber. 

In February, the US designated Maduro's vice president and presumed heir Tareck El Aissami a major international drug trafficker.

SEOUL — US President Donald Trump told South Korea's presidential envoy that Washington was willing to try to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis through engagement, but under the right conditions, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Trump has said "a major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible and all options are on the table but that he wanted to resolve the crisis diplomatically, possibly through the extended use of economic sanctions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office last week, has campaigned on a more moderate approach towards the North but he has said it must change its attitude of insisting on arms development before dialogue can be possible.

Moon's envoy to Washington, South Korean media mogul Hong Seok-hyun, said Trump spoke of being willing to use engagement to ensure peace, Hong said in comments carried by television.

"The fact that Trump said he will not have talks for the sake of talks reiterated our joint stance that we are open to dialogue but the right situation must be formed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck told a regular briefing.

South Korea and the United States agreed during a visit to Seoul by Trump's national security advisers this week to formulate a "bold and pragmatic" joint approach, Cho added.

The North has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland United States, saying the programme is necessary to counter US aggression.

The United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea to guard against the North Korean threat, has called on China to do more to rein in its neighbour.

China for its part has been infuriated by the US deployment of an advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, saying it was a threat to its security and would do nothing to ease tension with Pyongyang.

South Korea has complained that some of is companies doing business in China have faced discrimination in retaliation for the system's deployment.

North Korea conducted its latest ballistic missile test on Sunday in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, saying it was a test of its capability to carry a "large-size heavy nuclear warhead".

But a senior North Korean diplomat has said Pyongyang is also open to having talks with Washington under the right conditions.

Moon's envoy to China, former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, arrived there on Thursday with a letter from Moon to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Before leaving, Lee said a summit between Xi and Moon could happen as soon as July, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Germany. A separate summit could also be held the following month, Lee said.

Speaking to Lee, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there had been some "undeserved setbacks" in relations this year, in apparent reference to THAAD.

"We hope the new government will correct the problems that we have encountered and take effective measures and positions as soon as possible to remove the obstacles that have been placed on the road to good relations between our two countries," Wang said in comments in front of reporters. 

"This is the desire of our two peoples but also our governments," Wang added. "We believe South Korea will bring clear measures to improve relations."

 China's foreign ministry, in a later statement on its website, said Wang "fully explained" China's position on THAAD and asked South Korea to handle China's reasonable concerns appropriately.

"China is willing to make efforts with all sides, including South Korea, to take even more practical efforts and uphold resolving the nuclear issue on the peninsula via dialogue," the ministry cited Wang as saying.

Moon has sent envoys to the United States, China, Japan and the European Union this week in what the government calls "pre-emptive diplomacy". His envoy for Russia will leave next week.

LONDON — Britain's Liberal Democrat Party, trailing significantly behind Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party, vowed on Wednesday to hold a second referendum on a final Brexit deal if it wins next month's election.

Launching his party's proposals for the June 8 election, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said they would give Britons a say on the divorce deal struck with the European Union after two years of talks, saying a bad agreement would wreck Britain's future.

"You should have your say on the Brexit deal in a referendum," Farron said. "And if you don't like the deal you should be able to reject it and choose to remain in Europe."

 May has vowed to press ahead with Brexit, saying she was prepared to take Britain out of the EU even if no deal with the bloc could be struck, while Labour's leader Jeremy Corbyn has said the issue has been settled.

The Lib Dems are hopeful that their pro-EU stance will attract support from the 48 per cent of Britons who backed remaining in the bloc in last year's referendum, although opinion polls suggest the message has not won over many people from the two major parties who opposed Brexit. 

Surveys put support for the Liberal Democrats on about 10 per cent, some way behind May's Conservative Party which polls indicate is attracting support from more than 45 per cent of Britons with Labour on about 30 per cent.

Lib Dem support nationally has collapsed since the 2010 election when the party won 23 per cent of the vote, propelling it into a coalition government with former Conservative prime minister David Cameron.

But five years later voters abandoned the party as it bore the brunt of public anger over unpopular austerity measures and the Lib Dems lost all but eight of the 57 seats they held in the 650-seat parliament.

Among the other major policies advocated by the Lib Dems are an extra 1 pence on income tax rates to raise 6 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) to spend on the state-run National Health Service and a plan for a 100 billion pound infrastructure investment to help build 300,000 homes a year and improve road and rail links.