Trump to reassure anxious allies in first foreign foray

DONALD Trump travels from Washington on Friday, some four months after taking office, for his first foreign tour at a time of continuing domestic troubles. With many US allies still nervous about what his presidency means for US international policy, the visit will see the Trump team intensify a campaign of diplomatic reassurance.

The trip will take in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, the Vatican and Brussels, in a complex tour which includes the ancient capitals of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. It culminates with the Nato and G-7 summits next week where international leaders will urge the president to move further away from the "America first" rhetoric of the campaign trail last year.

A third of a year into office, Mr Trump's international approach remains largely undefined. He promised "a new foreign policy direction" in what was seen, in some quarters earlier this year, as perhaps the biggest potential shake-up of US foreign relations since 1945.