GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged European Union nations to stick together in the face of emerging policy divisions with the US, Britain’s decision to leave the bloc and other challenges.

Speaking at a campaign event held in a Bavarian beer tent, Ms Merkel suggested on Sunday that the G7 summit in Italy that ended on Saturday had served as something of a wakeup call.

G7 leaders were unable to reach unanimous agreement on climate change after US President Donald Trump said he needed more time to decide whether to back a key climate accord.

“The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days,” Ms Merkel said. “And so all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”

Ms Merkel emphasised the need for continued friendly relations with the US and Britain and also stressed the importance of being good neighbours “wherever that is possible, including with Russia, but also with others.”

“But we need to know we must fight for our own future, as Europeans, for our destiny,” she said.

After the G7 summit, Ms Merkel called the climate talks “very difficult, if not to say, very unsatisfactory.”

LEAKS ARE ‘FABRICATED LIES’

Mr Trump, meanwhile, returned to the US on Saturday to face a relentless stream of sourced reports about alleged Trump campaign contacts with Russia. On Sunday the US leader hit back on Twitter.

Mr Trump tweeted that “it is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies” from what he calls the “FakeNews media.”

He said that “whenever you see the words ‘sources say’ in the fake news media, and they don’t mention names ... it is very possible that those sources don’t exist but are made up by fake news writers. (hash) FakeNews is the enemy!”

It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

The latest reports said Mr Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner proposed a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.

A person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press that Mr Kushner spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about creating that line of communication.

It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

....it is very possible that those sources don't exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

The purpose was to facilitate sensitive discussions aimed at exploring the incoming administration’s options with Russia as it was developing its Syria policy.

Mr Trump’s aides travelling with the president in Europe have refused to address the contents of Kushner’s December meeting with the Russian diplomat.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster says the administration has back channel communications with a number of countries and that they allow for “discreet” communication.

WHITE HOUSE OMITS GAY PARTNER IN PHOTO CAPTION

A White House photo of NATO spouses did not include the gay husband of Luxembourg’s prime minister in its caption.

The photo shows the partners of 10 world leaders who met at the NATO summit in Brussels, including Melania Trump.

When the White House first posted the photo on Facebook, the caption identified every person except the only man — Gauthier Destenay.

Mr Destenay married Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in 2015.

The omission sparked outrage on social media, with the GLAAD Facebook account commenting: “What about Luxembourg’s openly gay First Husband?”

US EYES EXPANDED LAPTOP BAN

US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has revealed he is considering banning laptop computers on international flights into and out of the country amid signs of “a real threat.”

Mr Kelly made his remarks during the Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest travel periods in the United States, at a time when the bombing at a concert in Manchester, England has raised concerns that further attacks — possibly involving explosives packed in electronic devices — may be planned.

“There’s a real threat — numerous threats against aviation,” Mr Kelly told the Fox News Sunday program when asked about the likelihood a wide-reaching ban on large electronics in plane cabins could be imposed.