WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that Mexico will reimburse American taxpayers for a new border wall and that US money spent will be for the “sake of speed.”
Trump criticized news reports that taxpayers would pay for his planned border wall, saying they were failing to report that US funds used to start the project would be repaid by Mexico.
His tweet came as top aides consider a plan to ask Congress to ensure money is available in US coffers for the wall, but to rely on existing law that already authorizes fencing and other technology along the southern border.
CNN and other media organizations reported on Friday that Trump’s transition team had signaled to congressional Republicans that he preferred to fund the border wall through the appropriations process as soon as April.
Trump said in his note on Twitter that initial US funding would be to get the wall started more quickly and Mexico would eventually repay the US. Trump’s top aide Kellyanne Conway said the president-elect was not going back on his campaign promise to have Mexico pay for the wall.
“Nothing has changed from our perspective. Congress is taking it on themselves to explore different options to pay for the wall,” she told CBS News’ “This Morning” program on Friday.
The potential approach was confirmed on Thursday by two congressional officials and a senior transition official with knowledge of the discussions; all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Trump said in a tweet early Friday: “The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on building the Great Wall (for sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later!” Mexico’s president and other senior officials have repeatedly insisted that Mexico will not pay for a wall.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly told voters that if elected he would build a wall along the US southern border and make Mexico pay for it.
Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer said putting US money up-front “doesn’t mean he’s broken his promise.” In an interview Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Spicer said: “I think he’s going to continue to talk to them (the Mexican government) about that.”
The approach could also stave off a legislative fight that Trump might lose if he tried to get Congress to pass a measure authorizing the kind of border wall he promised during the campaign.
It is not clear how much could be done along the 2,000-mile border without additional actions by Congress. Lawmakers passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006, but most of those 700 miles have already been built. Some areas are in much better shape than others, though, and long stretches are made up of fencing that stops vehicles but not pedestrians.
But whatever steps might be taken without Congress’ approval would be likely to fall short of the extravagant new wall on the border that Trump repeatedly said Mexico would pay for during his campaign for the White House.
And despite Congress’ involvement in approving any spending, such an approach might also open Trump to charges of circumventing the House and the Senate to take unilateral actions, something he repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama for doing. A spending bill including money for border construction could also provoke a legislative showdown given potential opposition from Senate Democrats.
Still, several lawmakers and congressional officials said the administration could have significant flexibility in taking additional steps without Congress’ approval.
“There’s a lot of things that can be done within current law,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a longtime proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, though he emphasized that a lasting solution on immigration would take action by Congress. “You cannot minimize the potential impact of the administration doing what they can do under the law,” he said.
However, some immigration hard-liners have already expressed the desire to see Congress take a vote, given how prominent the wall was during Trump’s presidential campaign, and their desire to act on the issue.
Trump’s vow to build an impenetrable, concrete wall along the southern border was his signature campaign proposal. “Build the wall!” supporters would chant at his rallies. “Who’s going to pay for it?” Trump would ask them. “Mexico!” Trump often promised the wall would be built of hardened concrete, rebar and steel as tall as his venues’ ceilings, and would feature a “big, beautiful door” to allow legal immigrants to enter.
Most experts viewed such promises as unrealistic and impractical, and Trump himself sometimes allowed that the wall would not need to span the entire length of the border, thanks to natural barriers like rivers. After winning the election, he said he would be open to stretches of fencing.
Trump on border wall: Mexico will pay us back
Trump on border wall: Mexico will pay us back
Russian troops are advancing fast along Ukrainian frontline, defense minister says
- Some 427,000 servicemen have signed contracts with the army this year
MOSCOW: Russian troops have pushed Ukrainian forces out of almost 4,500 square kilometers of territory this year and are advancing an average 30 square kilometers per day, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Monday.
Some 427,000 servicemen have signed contracts with the army this year, Belousov told a meeting of defense officials and President Vladimir Putin.
Military spending had reached 6.3 percent of gross domestic product, he said, a figure in line with Russia’s budget proposals.
Philippines eyes Gulf investors in bid to diversify investment partners
- Philippines is currently in negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the UAE
- Manila seeks Gulf investment in food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy
Manila: The Philippines is prioritizing efforts to attract investors from the Gulf region, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said on Monday, as Manila seeks to diversify its investment partners.
PEZA, an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry, has been working to attract Gulf investors as part of a broader economic growth strategy, and to increase cooperation with more partner nations beyond the US and Japan.
The Philippines is seeking Gulf investments in various fields, including food processing, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy, PEZA’s Director-General Tereso Panga said on Monday.
“For investments coming from the Middle East, especially UAE and even Saudi (Arabia), we are looking at food processing, agro-based industries, renewable energy development.
“And there’s also a potential to bring some pharmaceutical companies into the Philippines from those countries,” Panga said. “We will continue our investment promotions in the Middle East … It’s a priority.”
The DTI’s Secretary Cristina Roque previously said that UAE investors were looking to invest PHP25 billion ($425 million) in the Philippines, including on ports development, following her visit to the Gulf nation in October.
The Philippines sees an opportunity “to position itself as an attractive destination for more Gulf investors” as Middle East nations diversify away from oil to agriculture and manufacturing, PEZA said in a statement.
Manila has been in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE since the beginning of this year. Once finalized, it will be the Philippines’ first free-trade pact with a Gulf nation.
EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown
- Georgia has been in turmoil since the governing party claimed victory in contested parliamentary elections
- Georgian Dream party-run government also announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years
BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday Brussels had put forward a list of Georgians to sanction over a crackdown on pro-Western protesters, but Hungary was set to block the measures.
“We have proposed the list for sanctions for these people who are... using really force and violence against the opposition,” Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“But everybody needs to agree to the list, and we are not there yet.”
Georgia’s authorities have forcefully clamped down on pro-EU demonstrators taking to the streets in recent weeks to protest the government’s decision to shelve its push to join the bloc.
The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in contested October parliamentary elections and then announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons against largely peaceful demonstrators who fear that Georgian Dream is dragging the country back into Russia’s orbit.
Brussels says there are “credible concerns” of torture and has called for the immediate release of detainees after more than 400 were arrested.
But despite a raft of EU states seeking to take a tougher line, Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban — a staunch supporter of Georgia’s government — has rejected attempts to sanction Tbilisi.
The EU has already suspended some support for the Georgian government and said in June the country’s membership bid had “de facto” been frozen after authorities pushed through Kremlin-style laws targeting NGOs.
EU officials said the bloc was also eyeing the possibility of imposing restrictions on Georgian diplomatic passport holders.
But there was not yet consensus on what would be a largely symbolic move.
At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
KYIV: Ukraine said Monday that its troops killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been deployed by Russia to its western Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized territory.
Thousands of troops from North Korea have come to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk border region where Russia has been clawing back territory after a surprise offensive from Ukrainian forces this summer.
“On December 14 and 15, army units from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) suffered significant losses near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, Martynovka in the Kursk region of Russia — at least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
The units are “being replenished with fresh personnel” from North Korea, which Western officials estimate has sent at least 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.
Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion.
Russia has begun deploying “a noticeable number” of North Koreans in assaults to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, Zelensky said on Saturday.
He said that according to his information, “the Russians include (North Koreans) in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” where Ukraine launched an incursion in August.
Zelensky said he has also heard the North Koreans “may be used in other parts of the front line,” and that “losses among this category are also already noticeable.”
Russia’s defense ministry said last week its troops recaptured some small settlements in the Kursk region.
Last month a Ukrainian army source told AFP that Kyiv controls 800 square kilometers of territory there, down from previous claims it controlled around 1,400 square kilometers.
Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
- The cyclone has left French Indian Ocean territory’s health services in tatters
- Officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas
SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.
Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble.
The crisis, which erupted at the weekend the day after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government still only operating in a caretaker capacity.
The cyclone has left health services in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and health centers knocked out of operation, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2.
“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” she said, adding that “medical centers were also non-operational.”
Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris at 1700 GMT, the Elysee said.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island.
Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barreled down on France’s poorest territory on Saturday.
Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand.”
With roads closed, officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas.
The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, said the storm “spared nothing.”
“The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,” he said.
Some 160 additional soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed.
The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as a hub for the rescue operations.
Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which lies to the east of Mozambique.
At least a third of the territory’s 320,000 residents live in shantytowns, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were flattened by the storm.
One resident, Ibrahim, said of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads himself.
As authorities assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane reached Mayotte on Sunday.
It carried three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical staff, according to authorities in La Reunion.
Patrice Latron, prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, immense destruction.”
Two military aircraft are expected to follow the initial aid flight, while a navy patrol ship was also due to depart La Reunion.
There have been international pledges to help Mayotte, including from the regional Red Cross organization PIROI.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “ready to provide support in the days to come.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care.”
With around 100,000 people estimated to live clandestinely on Mayotte, according to France’s interior ministry, establishing how many people have been affected by the cyclone is proving difficult.
Ousseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare venture out to seek assistance, “fearing it would be a trap” designed to remove them from Mayotte.
Many had stayed put “until the last minute” when it proved too late to escape the cyclone, she added.
Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide fueled by climate change, according to experts.
The “exceptional” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the Meteo France weather service said.
Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll stood at three.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warned 1.7 million people were in danger and the remnants of the cyclone could also dump “significant rainfall” in Malawi through Monday.
