Has Donald Trump Put A Muslim Ban On Himself?

At his first campaign rally since calling for Muslims to be banned from entering America, he insisted "what I said the other day" was right, but pointedly avoided mentioning Muslims or Islam.

He referred to Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the married couple who killed 14 people in California last week, as "those two people".

He also claimed public opinion on the issue was starting to go his way, telling a crowd largely made up of police and prison officers: "We have people talking, I'll tell you that - and they're talking very positively." 

The property tycoon's reluctance to repeat his direct criticism of Muslims follows pressure from the Middle East where he has significant investments.

Employees at the Trump Towers mall in Istanbul slammed the 69-year-old candidate's proposal.

Men's clothing store worker Ozan Emen, 20,  said: "It's a reason for me to quit my job."

Oguzhan Kilic, another worker at the mall, said: "I am happy to be working here. But I have some doubts related to its (Trump Towers) name.

"If my customers, or me who wants to buy, or if another person that I know wants to buy a place here, I wouldn't direct him or her (to Trump Towers), I would advise them to buy a residence somewhere else. And I'm going to do that."

Trump secured the backing of the union in his latest campaign event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

He also used his speech to announce that as president he would make the death penalty mandatory for any killer of a police officer.

Meanwhile the Republican Party is weighing up its options after a bruising week with suggestions it might not have a preferred candidate for next year's presidential election in time for its nominating convention in July.

A so-called brokered convention, where no single candidate has a clear majority, would reduce the chance of a Republican being elected as the next president.

:: An online petition to ban Mr Trump from entering the UK, which has become the most popular ever on the Government's website, has passed the half a million mark.

The number of people signing the petition, which was set up almost two weeks ago, soared in recent days following his calls for Muslims to be barred from entering the US and his claim that parts of London were so "radicalised" that police feared for their lives.