Trump denies folding to Chinese demands in trade talks, no decision made on ZTE

Now for a look at stories making headlines around the world and we start in the U.S.
President Trump has once again lashed out at the media, which have suggested he made concessions in trade negotiations with China to save a Chinese telecommunications company.
For more on this and other international news we turn to our Ro Aram.
Aram… White House officials have suggested the easing of penalties on ZTE was separate from trade talks… but Trump's tweets on Wednesday have muddled that message.

That's right Mark… On Sunday, Trump tweeted that he was going to ease penalties levied on ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions by trading with North Korea and Iran.
At that time he said he had instructed the Commerce Department to help the firm "get back into business, fast," expressing concern that too many jobs were being lost in China.
The U.S. and China are slated to hold trade talks this week to avoid a potentially devastating trade war, and reports suggest that helping ZTE was part of concessions made by Trump to reach a trade consensus with Beijing.
However, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had suggested the two matters were separate, saying Trump's push to help ZTE was an "enforcement" issue and not anything to do with trade.
But in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Trump caused confusion by saying the ZTE issue "pertains to the larger trade deal."
He also accused CNN and the Washington Post of writing fake stories about the negotiations.
He said there has been no "folding" in the talks, which he said hadn't even started yet.
He also said he had not yet seen China's demands, adding "the U.S. has very little to give, because it has given so much over the years. China has much to give "
U.S. lawmakers have been urging Trump not to pull back restrictions on a firm that does business with America's rivals, saying that doing so would harm national security.