HONOLULU, USA: President Donald Trump headed to Japan on the first stop of his five-nation tour of Asia on Saturday, looking to present a united front with the Japanese against North Korea as tensions run high over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests.
Trump, who is on a 12-day trip, is to speak to US and Japanese forces at Yokota air base shortly after arriving in Japan on Sunday and looked to stress the importance of the alliance to regional security.
Ballistic missile tests by North Korea and its sixth and largest nuclear test, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, have exacerbated the most critical international challenge of Trump’s presidency.
Aerial drills conducted over South Korea by two US strategic bombers have raised tensions in recent days.
In a display of golf diplomacy, Trump is to play a round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders also played together in Florida earlier this year.
Trump will also have a state call with the Imperial Family at Akasaka Palace during his visit. Abe and Trump will meet families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.
Joined by his wife Melania on part of the trip, Trump’s tour of Asia is the longest by an American president since George H.W. Bush in 1992. Besides Japan, he will visit South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Trump departed Hawaii for Japan aboard Air Force One shortly before 7:27 a.m. Hawaii time (1727 GMT).
En route to Hawaii’s Hickham Air Force Base, Trump’s motorcade stopped briefly at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki.
“It has been a tremendously successful project and he wanted to say hello and thank you to the employees for all their hard work,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
Trump extended the trip by a day on Friday when he agreed to participate in a summit of East Asian nations in Manila.
His trip got off to a colorful start in Hawaii. He was taken by boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial, where lies the World War Two ship that was sunk by the Japanese during the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.
The Trumps tossed white flower petals into the waters at the memorial in honor of those who died at Pearl Harbor.
Trade, North Korea
Trump’s trip is to be dominated by trade and how to muster more international pressure on North Korea to give up nuclear weapons.
“We’ll be talking about trade,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. “We’ll be talking about obviously North Korea. We’ll be enlisting the help of a lot of people and countries and we’ll see what happens. But I think we’re going to have a very successful trip. There is a lot of good will.”
Trump has rattled some allies with his vow to “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatens the United States and his dismissal of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “rocket man” on a suicide mission.
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, briefing reporters on Friday, defended Trump’s colorful language.
“What’s inflammatory is the North Korean regime and what they’re doing to threaten the world,” McMaster said.
Trump will seek a united front with the leaders of Japan and South Korea against North Korea before visiting Beijing to make the case to Chinese President Xi Jinping that he should do more to rein in Pyongyang.
Trade will factor heavily during Trump’s trip as he tries to persuade Asian allies to agree to trade policies more favorable to the United States.
A centerpiece of the trip will be a visit to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam, where he will deliver a speech in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is seen as offering a bulwark in response to expansionist Chinese policies.
Trump heads to Japan with North Korea on his mind
Trump heads to Japan with North Korea on his mind
US authorizes military sales of more than $5 billion to Egypt
- Cairo is one of the largest recipients of US security aid since its peace treaty with Israel in 1979
The State Department informed Congress it had approved the sale of $4.69 billion in equipment for 555 US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks operated by Egypt, $630 million in 2,183 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and $30 million in precision-guided munitions.
The sale “will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East,” according to a statement.
US President Joe Biden took office in 2021 vowing a harder line on Egypt over human rights concerns under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, but his administration has repeatedly gone ahead with arms deals with Egypt.
Cairo is one of the largest recipients of US security aid since its peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
Egypt and the United States have worked increasingly closely since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023, with Cairo playing a mediating role.
In addition to the sales to Egypt, the State Department also authorized $295 million in equipment for Taiwan, $170 million in bombs and missiles for Morocco, and $130 million in uncrewed aircraft systems and armored vehicles to Greece.
The Taiwan authorizations were announced shortly after US President Joe Biden announced $571.3 million in new military aid to the self-ruled island, which China claims as part of its territory and has vowed to retake — by force, if necessary.
The US Congress can still block the sales, but such attempts are usually unsuccessful.
Nearly half of taxpayers worldwide don’t see their money being spent for public good — survey
- 52% of respondents globally agreed that taxes were a contribution to the community rather than a cost
- Only 33% individuals agreed that tax revenues in their country were spent for the betterment of public
ISLAMABAD: Almost half of taxpayers across the globe do not see their money being spent for the betterment of public, a recent global survey found, in contrast with the idea of citizens agreeing to pay taxes in exchange for services.
The poll was conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a globally recognized professional body providing qualifications and advancing standards in accountancy.
The survey found that 52% of the respondents globally agreed that taxes were a contribution to the community rather than a cost, while 25% disagreed with this. The rest chose to stay neutral.
“Only 33% agree that tax revenues in their country are spent for the public good,” the ACCA said on Friday, adding that 46% respondents disagreed with the notion.
In addition, it said, 32% agreed that public services and infrastructure were a fair return for the taxes they paid, with 50% disagreeing and the rest staying neutral.
Pakistan has one of the lowest tax ratios in the world, according to the World Bank. The South Asian country’s failure to generate tax revenues in higher amounts stems from the fact that it has a narrow tax base, low compliance rate, an inefficient tax administration and massive tax evasion.
The South Asian country aims to collect an ambitious $46 billion through taxes this financial year (July 2024 till June 2025). Authorities say they have identified 4.9 million taxable persons in the country by using modern technology.
“Trust in tax systems is crucial for sustainable development and prosperity, and the findings of this survey highlight the challenges that many governments across the world face in building it,” said Helen Brand, the ACCA chief executive.
“We look forward to using this important work to engage with policymakers, tax authorities and civil society to drive evidence-based policy initiatives to build effective and trusted tax systems.”
Italian deputy PM Salvini acquitted of migrant kidnapping charges
- Protecting borders is not a crime, League party chief says
- PM Meloni vows to continue fight against illegal immigration
PALERMO, Italy: A court on Friday acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of charges of kidnapping over 100 migrants aboard a boat he had blocked at sea for nearly three weeks in 2019, as part of a policy to curb irregular arrivals.
After a three-year trial, judges rejected a prosecutor’s request to hand a six-year jail term to Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, who is serving as transport minister in Giorgia Meloni’s government.
“I’m happy. After three years, common sense won, the League won, Italy won,” Salvini told reporters, saying that protecting national borders “is not a crime, but a right.”
The verdict came against a backdrop of tensions between the government and the judiciary over migration, after a court questioned the legality of a flagship plan to send asylum seekers to Albania, in cases now pending with the European Court of Justice
Salvini had tried to prevent the Spanish charity Open Arms from bringing 147 asylum seekers to Italy in the summer of 2019, when he was interior minister, as part of his policy of closing Italy’s ports to migrant boats.
The not-guilty verdict was greeted with applause from League politicians who gathered in the court room to support their leader. Prime Minister Meloni said it showed the allegations were “unfounded and surreal.”
“Let us continue together, with tenacity and determination, to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and to defend national sovereignty,” Meloni wrote on social media platform X.
Before judges withdrew to consider their verdict, prosecutor Marzia Sabella told the court that Salvini had exceeded his powers in refusing to let the ship dock and there were no national security considerations justifying him in preventing the disembarkation.
Defense lawyer Giulia Bongiorno, who is also a League senator, said the boats had no automatic right to dock in Italy and the migrants could have been taken elsewhere if the charity had been genuinely concerned for their welfare.
The Open Arms’ ship had picked up mainly African migrants off Libya over a two-week period and then asked to dock in an Italian port. It turned down a request to sail to its home country Spain, saying those on board were too exhausted and needed immediate care.
Magistrates eventually seized the boat and ordered the migrants be brought ashore.
The case drew international attention.
Salvini received backing from far-right allies across Europe this week, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and also from US billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising US President-elect Donald Trump.
Well over 1 million migrants have reached Italy by boat from North Africa over the past 12 years, seeking a better life in Europe. The migration has boosted support for far-right parties, which have put curbing mass migration from Africa and the Middle East at the top of the political agenda.
Guatemala authorities raid ultra-orthodox Jewish sect’s compound after report of abuse
- The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel
GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalan authorities searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect Friday, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital.
“The protection of boys and girls is an absolute priority,” Jiménez said.
Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found. The office said a complaint was made in November of possible crimes including forced pregnancies, mistreatment of minors and rape.
The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.
In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.
In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult male.
The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel.
US State Department imposes visa restrictions on multiple people in South Sudan
WASHINGTON: The US Department of State said on Friday that it is imposing visa restrictions on multiple individuals responsible for the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.
“We note the continued failure of South Sudan’s leaders to use their nation’s resources to the benefit of its people, their failure to end public corruption and elite capture of the country’s resources, their failure to protect the people of South Sudan from abuses and violations of their human rights, including civil and political rights, and their failure to maintain peace,” the State Department said.
