Biden accuses Trump of giving up in Covid fight
US presidential challenger Joe Biden on Sunday accused Donald Trump of giving up in the fight against Covid-19 as the president faced a new outbreak in his team, surging infections nationwide and an uncomfortable admission by his chief of staff......»»
Canada warns India to treat Sikh slaying allegation seriously
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday demanded that India treat with "utmost seriousness" Canada's allegations of New Delhi's possible involvement in the slaying of a Sikh exile, a concern echoed by Washington. Canada's assertion led to reciprocal expulsions of an Indian intelligence official from Canada and a senior Canadian diplomat from New Delhi. "India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate," Trudeau told reporters. Canada said Monday that there were "credible allegations" that agents linked to New Delhi were responsible for the murder June 18 of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in front of a Sikh cultural center in a Vancouver suburb. The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the leader had "completely rejected" Canada's assertions in the unsolved slaying. "Allegations of Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Washington, however, joined Ottawa in calling for India to reveal what it knows about the slaying. "We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. "We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice." Sikh nationalism An activist for the creation of a Sikh state known as Khalistan, Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder. He had denied those charges, according to the World Sikh Organization of Canada, a nonprofit organization that says it defends the interests of Canadian Sikhs. Relations between Canada and India have been strained in recent months since the assassination of the Sikh leader and demonstrations that followed in Canada. The Indian government accuses Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of radical Sikh nationalists who advocate the creation of an independent Sikh state to be carved out of northern India. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who was at the United Nations, said his nation wants India's "full cooperation" with Canada in the probe. Trudeau said the case is "extremely serious" and "has far reaching consequences... for Canada." Trudeau said his government did not rush to judgment in the case and had worked closely with its intelligence agencies. "We wanted to make sure that we had a solid grounding in understanding what was going on and analysis and indeed in facts," he said, adding that Ottawa had "fully shared with the government of India the seriousness... of our preoccupations and indeed conclusions." 'No surprise to Sikhs' A representative of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, Mukhbir Singh, said his countrymen may have been "shocked" by Trudeau's assertion "but it was no surprise to the Sikh community." "For decades, India has targeted Sikhs in Canada with espionage, disinformation and now murder," he alleged. A Sikh lawyer in the Toronto area, Harkirt Singh Dhadda, said Sikhs want to see "those who pulled the trigger and the ones who plotted this assassination" brought to justice. In a sign of the simmering crisis, Ottawa recently suspended negotiations for a free-trade agreement with India, and last week the minister of trade canceled a trip to the country planned for October. In contrast, the US government's relations with India have steadily been upgraded as Washington views New Delhi as a key ally in countering Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet in June for Modi, hosting him in only the third state visit of his presidency. The post Canada warns India to treat Sikh slaying allegation seriously appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election
Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday over his efforts to upend the results of the 2020 US election -- the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. It is the third criminal indictment of the 77-year-old Trump since March and charges him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is already scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May of next year for allegedly mishandling top-secret government documents. The new charges, two of which carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, raise the prospect of Trump being embroiled in more legal proceedings at the height of what is expected to be a bitter and divisive presidential campaign. The indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the 6 January 2021, joint session of Congress held to certify Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Trump is also accused in the 45-page indictment of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims that he won the November 2020 presidential election. "Shortly after election day -- which fell on 2 November 2020 -- the Defendant launched his criminal scheme," the indictment, handed down by a grand jury in Washington, said. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud," it said. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor at the Hague, said the January 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters was "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy." "It was fueled by lies," Smith told reporters in brief remarks. "Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government -- the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election." Part of that plan, the indictment alleges, was to have then-vice president Mike Pence use his role as presiding officer over the January 6 joint session to throw out several states' votes. Pence ultimately refused, issuing a public statement saying that he did not believe the Constitution allowed him that power. As Trump's supporters later stormed the US Capitol, where Pence was in hiding, Trump tweeted that his vice president "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done." White House silence The White House on Tuesday maintained silence on Trump's historic indictment. Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, continued his beach vacation in Delaware, dining out with First Lady Jill Biden before seeing the film "Oppenheimer." Trump's campaign, meanwhile, issued a blistering statement, comparing his prosecution to "Nazi Germany in the 1930s" and stating that he had followed "advice from many highly accomplished attorneys" -- a likely line of defense at trial. The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified and Trump, who is to be arraigned on Thursday, is the only named defendant. The case is expected to be heard by US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama. Smith said he is seeking a "speedy trial." Trump furious Trump lashed out at the special counsel, calling him "deranged" and accusing him of issuing "yet another Fake Indictment" to "interfere with the presidential election." "Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago?" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Why did they wait so long? "Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign," he said. "Prosecutorial misconduct!" Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a political "witch hunt" by the Department of Justice. Besides the classified documents charges, the former president also faces a criminal trial in New York for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star. Georgia prosecutors are also looking into whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election outcome in the southern state. As president, Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine and over the events of January 6 but he was acquitted by the Senate both times. Pence, who is competing against Trump in the Republican primary, said on Twitter -- now rebranded as X -- that Tuesday's indictment "serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States." The post Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 US election appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump charged with deleting home camera footage
A new indictment against former United States president Donald Trump lends weight to earlier charges that he allegedly mishandled top-secret documents. The new charge unsealed by federal prosecutors on Thursday alleged that he conspired with his personal aide and a new defendant to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida in an alleged attempt to cover up illegal possession of classified papers. The new charges came the same day Trump said his lawyers met with Justice Department officials ahead of a separate expected indictment over his alleged efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election in which he lost to President Joe Biden. The twice-impeached former president was first indicted in the classified documents case last month, accused of endangering national security by holding on to top secret nuclear and defense information after leaving the White House. Trump kept the files — which included records from the Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency — unsecured at his home and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment. Thursday’s superseding indictment accuses the billionaire of acting with his co-defendant in the case, personal aide Waltine “Walt” Nauta, and property manager Carlos de Oliveira, to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago. The fresh charges add to the existing counts of “willful retention of national defense information” and charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements and other offenses to which Trump pleaded not guilty last month. It also adds an extra count under the Espionage Act related to Trump allegedly retaining a classified document “concerning military activity in a foreign country.” According to the indictment, citing an audio recording of the interaction, Trump in 2021 allegedly told visitors of his New Jersey golf club of the defense document, “’As president I could have declassified it,’ and ‘Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.’” Trump Thursday night dismissed the new accusations as “ridiculous” during an interview with Fox News Digital. “It’s election interference at the highest level,” he said, blaming his potential campaign opponent Biden and the Justice Department for “prosecutorial misconduct.” The front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary is set to go on trial as the election heats up in May of next year. WITH AFP The post Trump charged with deleting home camera footage appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Key events in the war in Ukraine
From the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year to the armed rebellion Saturday of the pro-Kremlin Wagner paramilitary group, here is a timeline of the main events. The biggest attack on a European country since World War II has killed or wounded over 150,000 people, according to Western estimates. February 2022: invasion Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a "special military operation" in Ukraine on 24 February, saying he wants to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" the country as well as protect the predominantly Russian-speaking east from "genocide". A full-scale invasion starts, with missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities that sparks a refugee crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stays in the capital Kyiv to lead the resistance. The West imposes unprecedented sanctions on Russia and the European Union and United States send Ukraine weapons and aid. March: Russian advances Russian forces make gains in the south, seizing the city of Kherson, close to the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula. Russian forces also attempt to surround Kyiv and take Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast but meet fierce resistance. A month into the fighting, Russia withdraws from the north to focus on the eastern industrial Donbas region, partly held by Moscow-backed separatists, along with the south. April: war crimes revealed In early April, AFP discovers the bodies of at least 20 civilians lying on a single street in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha -- the first of several grisly discoveries in towns that Russian forces had occupied which spark an international outcry and war crimes investigations. May: Mariupol falls On 21 May, Russia announces the fall of the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which had been relentlessly bombed, after the last Ukrainian troops holding out at a steelworks surrender. Sweden and Finland request membership of NATO, fearing they could be future targets of Russian aggression. June: Donbas battle rages In June, Russia takes the Donbas city of Severodonetsk after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, followed soon after by the neighbouring city of Lysychansk. July: gas supplies cut On 22 July, Kyiv and Moscow sign a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, in a bid to relieve a food crisis aggravated by Russia's blockade of the country's ports. Russian gas giant Gazprom slashes its supply to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline, fuelling fears of gas shortages in Europe. August: battle for Bakhmut Kyiv launches a major offensive to retake Kherson as a bitter battle begins for the eastern town of Bakhmut, spearheaded on the Russian side by the Wagner mercenary group. Wagner claims to have wrested total control of Bakhmut in May. September: annexation Ukraine retakes hundreds of towns and villages in a lightning counter-offensive around Kharkiv. Putin launches a partial draft of 300,000 reservists, sparking an exodus of young Russian men of military age. On 30 September, he formally annexes the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. October: power supply hit On 8 October, an explosion causes major damage to a bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland -- a symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula. Putin blames Ukrainian secret services for the attack. Russian forces retaliate with a barrage of strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, leaving millions without power in what becomes its new modus operandi throughout the winter. November: retreat from Kherson On 9 November, Moscow orders its troops to retreat from Kherson in the face of advancing Ukrainian forces, marking a stunning defeat in one of the regions it annexed. Jubilant residents hail Ukrainian forces as liberators. December: Zelensky goes to Washington On 22 December, Zelensky visits Washington on his first overseas trip since the war began. He meets President Joe Biden and addresses Congress. January 2023: tanks on the way Russia suffers its biggest single loss of life since the invasion in a Ukrainian attack on a temporary base in the eastern town of Makiivka on 1 January. Moscow says 89 soldiers were killed in the hit. On 25 January, Germany finally agrees to send Ukraine some of its powerful Leopard tanks. The United States follows, announcing that it will provide 31 Abrams tanks. On 19 May, Biden authorises the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv. In April, Ukraine also receives anti-missile Patriot defence systems from Washington. 6 June: dam destroyed A blast at the Kakhovka dam in Russian-annexed Crimea inundates vast areas of the Kherson region, forcing thousands to flee and sparking fears of an environmental disaster. Kyiv accuses Moscow of blowing up the dam on the Dnipro River, while Russia blames Ukraine. June: Ukraine counter-offensive A long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, aided by the supply of Western arms, according to analysts. Russia brands it a failure but Kyiv says it has retaken several areas. 24 June: Wagner rebellion Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, leading a mutiny to bring down Moscow's top brass, says his fighters have captured the army HQ in Russia's Rostov-on-Don "without firing a single shot" and claims to have the support of locals. Putin warns that treason against his rule threatens Russia with civil war and accuses the Wagner boss of a "stab in the back". The post Key events in the war in Ukraine appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump pleads not guilty
Former United States president Donald Trump’s attorneys pleaded not guilty on his behalf to charges of mishandling secret documents as he ranted against his prosecution after leaving the courtroom in Miami, Florida on Tuesday. “Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” Trump told supporters at his summer residence in New Jersey hours after being released on bond. On the eve of his 77th birthday, Trump was formally presented with 37 counts under seven charges. The US government — which has never before prosecuted a former president — accuses him of violating the Espionage Act and other laws when he removed classified documents upon leaving office in 2021 and failed to give them up to the National Archives. Authorities say he conspired to thwart investigators and knowingly shared national security secrets with people who did not have the requisite clearance. The runaway frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary blamed President Joe Biden for his prosecution. “A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges — of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty — right in the middle of a presidential election, in which he’s losing very badly,” Trump said, speaking from the front of the clubhouse, at a podium flanked by American flags. The day before his court appearance, Trump said he would appoint a special prosecutor on his return to office to investigate Biden, who is not facing any credible accusations of criminality. Tuesday's court appearance came and went without any major security incidents, as supporters and protesters lined the streets surrounding the courthouse of the Southern District of Florida, CNN reported. The post Trump pleads not guilty appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden says ‘hopeful’ on US debt deal within hours
President Joe Biden said Friday he is "hopeful" for a resolution within hours to the US debt ceiling standoff between Democrats and Republicans, raising hopes of an imminent end to the threat of default by the world's biggest economy. "It's very close and I'm optimistic," Biden told reporters at the White House. "I'm hopeful we'll know by tonight whether we're going to be able to have a deal." The Democratic president said he hoped for a resolution to the standoff "before the clock strikes twelve." It was by far the strongest indication that the drama in Washington might end, allowing the government to borrow and avoid a default likely to trigger a recession, mass job losses, and recession. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the dreaded X-date, when the government runs out of money unless it can borrow, will now be June 5, not June 1. Yellen, however, warned that the deadline extension does not change the urgency. "Waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," she said in a letter to the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Kevin McCarthy. According to unconfirmed US media reports, the deal taking shape would include an agreement to extend the government's borrowing authority for two years, meaning no repeat of the current drama before the 2024 presidential election. Democrats, however, would have to offer concessions on Republican demands for sweeping spending limits on social safety and other domestic programs. McCarthy told reporters that negotiators had "made progress" but added: "Nothing is agreed to until it's all agreed to." IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva cited new data that she said showed the "US economy has proven resilient," but urged a "speedy resolution" to avoid the first default in US history. "We think of the US Treasury market as an anchor for the global financial system, and this anchor needs to hold," she said. With the country getting a three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, members of Congress were leaving Washington on their own 10-day recess. Even Biden -- to the consternation of some in his own party -- headed to his Camp David retreat, then his home in Delaware. Yet Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, told CNN that both Biden and McCarthy were focused on avoiding catastrophe. "The president decided, the speaker has said it, and we have to get something done before June," Adeyemo said. "The president is committed to making sure that we have good faith negotiations with the Republicans to reach a deal because the alternative is catastrophic for all Americans." The debt ceiling raise is an annual accounting maneuver that usually passes with relatively little notice. It simply allows the government to keep borrowing money to pay for bills already incurred through the budget. This year, the increasingly hard-right Republican Party has decided to turn the debt ceiling into leverage to force Biden to roll back favorite Democratic spending priorities. Republicans call this taking responsibility for the $31 trillion national debt. The White House accuses the opposition party, which controls the House of Representatives, of taking the economy hostage. Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed the Republicans from the House floor on Thursday, accusing them of risking "a dangerous default in a crisis that they've created." Economists have spent months raising the prospect of economic catastrophe should the government default, and top military brass added their own dire prognosis Thursday, warning that the crisis would have a "significant negative impact" on troops. "Readiness clearly would be impacted," Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. McCarthy has pointed to a recent CNN poll showing 60 percent support for a debt ceiling hike if accompanied by cuts, although 51 percent of respondents in a new Monmouth University survey said they wanted the two issues to be separated. Although lawmakers are on recess, McCarthy has said they will get 24 hours' notice if they are required to return for a vote. The post Biden says ‘hopeful’ on US debt deal within hours appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
White House accuses Republican leader of ‘economic hostage-taking’
The White House on Monday accused the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, of taking the US economy hostage by attaching conditions to any extension of the country's debt ceiling. "Speaker McCarthy is breaking with the bipartisan norm... by engaging in dangerous economic hostage-taking that threatens hard-working Americans' jobs and retirement savings," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. McCarthy said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange that the debt ceiling should be raised but only in tandem with spending cuts to address the national debt. President Joe Biden has said repeatedly that he is ready to discuss spending reductions but that Congress must first pass a "clean" -- no-strings-attached -- debt ceiling increase before the current budget runs out of money sometime this summer. Bates said McCarthy had been "vague" in what he proposed needed cutting but that his priorities indicated an "extreme" position that would favor the "super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies." "Rather than ask the super-wealthy to pay their fair share, they propose cutting services for veterans. Rather than cut spending to Big Pharma, they propose sending manufacturing jobs overseas to countries including China," Bates alleged. The back-and-forth is the opening salvo in what is expected to be an intense political battle between Democrat Biden and McCarthy over the coming months. The US government is expected to run out of money in the summer, defaulting on its debt for the first time in history, if Congress does not authorize additional borrowing -- an accounting maneuver that has become standard practice over the years. The post White House accuses Republican leader of ‘economic hostage-taking’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden accuses Trump of giving up in Covid fight
US presidential challenger Joe Biden on Sunday accused Donald Trump of giving up in the fight against Covid-19 as the president faced a new outbreak in his team, surging infections nationwide and an uncomfortable admission by his chief of staff......»»
Numerous Individuals and Businesses Profit from Trump Media Stock
Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, had a successful first official trading session on the Nasdaq, with shares surging and approaching.....»»
Trending tickers: Trump Media, Tesla, Bitcoin and DS Smith
Former US president Donald Trump’s media firm, Trump Media & Technology Group, had a successful stock market debut in New York, with shares soaring past.....»»
Tenorio aims to keep imparting basketball knowledge
At this point of his career, 39-year-old LA Tenorio said it is all about giving back......»»
Pacatiw tries to buck cage rust in ONE Championship return
More than a year since his last ONE Championship bout, Jeremy Pacatiw acknowledged that he has a lot to work on before his comeback fight......»»
Moira Dela Torre highlights value of giving credit following viral copyright issue
Moira Dela Torre weighed in on the viral copyright issue and said that it is important to give credit where credit is due. .....»»
Angels rebound, Crossovers roll on
Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo carved out contrasting wins over Capital1 Solar Energy and Nxled, respectively, and stayed in the thick of the fight for the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena last night......»»
Andales cancels IBF world title fight in Japan
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Filipino ArAr Andales reportedly withdrew from his world title bout on March 31 in Nagoya, Japan. Andales was scheduled to fight the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight champion, Ginjiro Shigeoka of Japan. Their world title duel was supposedly a double-header world title bout with fellow Filipino Melvin Jerusalem gunning.....»»
‘Serenade of the Seas’ arrival restarts Subic cruise tourism program
The arrival here of GTS Serenade of the Seas, a 12-decker cruise liner operated by Royal Caribbean International, is expected to resurrect Subic’s cruise tourism program, which had gained momentum before being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago......»»
Women s Month: Deniece Cornejo urges Filipinas to fight sexual harassment, challenges
Model Deniece Cornejo had a message for her fellow Filipinas this International Women’s Month. .....»»
Russian Media Accuses Ukraine of Moscow Concert Hall Attack – The Daily Guardia
In a shocking turn of events, President Putin has attributed the recent concert hall assault in Moscow to radical Islamists for the first time. However,.....»»
Trump to face jurors in April before facing US voters in November
Republican strategists say voters have grown accustomed to Donald Trump's norm-shattering behavior, but a guilty verdict could hurt his ability to win over swing voters who decide elections.....»»
New Zealand accuses China of hacking parliament, condemns activity
The revelations that information was accessed through malicious cyber activity targeting New Zealand’s parliamentarian entities comes as Britain and the US accuse China of a wide-sweeping cyber espionage campaign.....»»