Trump slams ‘haters and fools’ playing politics with Russia

US President Donald Trump (L) chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Saturday. (AFP)
Updated 12 November 2017
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Trump slams ‘haters and fools’ playing politics with Russia

HANOI, Vietnam:  President Donald Trump is bashing the “haters and fools” he says are questioning his efforts to improve relations with Russia.
Trump, in the final days of a lengthy Asia trip, shared his thoughts in a series of tweets Sunday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
He accused critics of “playing politics” and hurting the country.
The day before, Trump had told reporters that Russia President Vladimir Putin has again denied meddling in the 2016 election. Trump did not make clear whether he believed Putin but did make clear that he did not want to revisit the issue.
Trump has suggested that the ongoing probe into contacts between his campaign and the Russians was hurting the US relationship with Moscow and could hinder efforts to solve crises like Syria and North Korea.

President Donald Trump is exchanging schools yard taunts with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Trump says in a tweet from Vietnam: “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?““
Trump goes on to say sarcastically, “Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend” and says that, “maybe someday that will happen!“
Trump has been working to rally global pressure against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program on a trip to Asia. That includes a stern speech delivered in South Korea.
Kim’s government responded to that speech by calling Trump an “old lunatic.”

President Donald Trump is back on the defensive over Russian election meddling and is accusing Democrats of trying to sabotage US-Russia relations.
Speaking to reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin vehemently insisted once again that Moscow had not interfered in the 2016 US elections.
The Republican president declined to say whether he believed Putin but made clear he wasn’t interested in dwelling on the issue.
Trump is in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a brief state visit. He’ll depart for the Philippines later Sunday for a pair of summits that will close out his trip.
Trump and Putin did not have a formal meeting while they were in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, but the two spoke informally several times on the event’s sidelines.

The Kremlin’s spokesman says Vladimir Putin flatly denied any Russian interference in the US presidential election during a short meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Russian president and Trump met Saturday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific conference in Vietnam.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as telling reporters: “Trump really raised the topic of so-called interference in US elections.
Peskov says, “Putin categorically rejected even the hypothetical possibility that Russia could have in some way interfered in the US electoral process.”

The White House Correspondents Association is voicing concerns about press access during President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia.
Reporters and photographers traveling with the president were barred from covering any of the events at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the coastal city of Danang on Saturday.
Reporters have also voiced concerns that Trump declined to take questions in China, though he has held press conferences in Japan and South Korea and spoke to reporters at length aboard Air Force One Saturday.
Margaret Talev, the correspondents association president, says in a statement the group is “concerned that access on this trip has eroded more significantly” and that “notice about changes or new coverage restrictions has often come with too short of notice to be able to react effectively.”

President Donald Trump is praising Vietnam in brief remarks before a state dinner, calling the nation “one of the great miracles of the world.”
He says the United States and Vietnam have “come a long way,” in an apparent reference to the Vietnam War.
Trump added that “there is nothing more impressive” than the success of the country. He spoke during a state dinner featuring local flavors.
On the menu: steamed rice powder rolls “with fluffy pemmican“; shrimp rolled in fried egg; a seafood soup made with fish maw, shrimp, scallop and shark fin; and Dong Tao chicken rolled with lotus and mushrooms.
Besides dinner, Trump is scheduled for talks with Vietnamese leaders before heading to the Philippines, his last stop on the trip.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday issued its first official statement on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia, slamming Trump for trying to denuclearize the North.
The ministry said that Trump’s trip “is a warmonger’s trip for confrontation with our country, trying to remove our self-defensive nuclear deterrent.”
It accused Trump of trying to demonize North Korea, keep it apart from the international community and undermine its government.
The ministry said, “Reckless remarks by an old lunatic like Trump will never scare us or stop our advance. On the contrary, all this makes us more sure that our choice to promote economic construction at the same time as building up our nuclear force is all the more righteous, and it pushes us to speed up the effort to complete our nuclear force.”
North Korea is not known to have tested any of its missiles or nuclear devices since Sept. 15, a relative lull after a brisk series of tests earlier this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is brushing off recent reports that the US commerce secretary had interest in a company that does business with a major Russian company with possible ties to Putin relatives.
Reports this week said Wilbur Ross is a shareholder in a shipping company that relies on the Russian company Sibur for much of its revenue. A man reported to be one of Putin’s sons-in-law is believed to be a major Sibur shareholder.
Putin said Saturday that “This is nothing more than business. It never had and does not have any relation with politics.”
Putin also rejected any Russian connection to the recently indicted former campaign manager of President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort.
Manafort is charged with offenses including failing to register as a foreign agent while advising the party of Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-friendly Ukrainan president who was ousted amid massive street protests in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the lack of a formal meeting with President Donald Trump at a conference in Vietnam reflects continuing tense relations between their countries.
Putin and Trump had several brief exchanges Friday night and Saturday as world leaders gathered for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. They did not have a formal, one-on-one meeting.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying that the lack of a formal meeting shows that US-Russia relations have “not yet emerged from the state of crisis.”
But he was also quoted as blaming the absence of a sit-down on scheduling conflicts and “certain matters of the protocol” that couldn’t be worked out.

President Donald Trump says he didn’t see Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH’-bay) take a tumble on the golf course.
But he says, if it was Abe, “I’m very impressed because (Abe is) better than any gymnast I’ve ever seen.”
Trump made the remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One as it headed toward Hanoi, Vietnam, for meetings and a state banquet.
Japan’s TV Tokyo aired footage of a player identified as Abe trying repeatedly to hit his ball out of a steep bunker. As he finally made the shot, Trump began walking away, and Abe ran up the side of the bunker to catch up.
But just as the 63-year-old prime minister stepped onto the grass, he slipped, making a backward flip down into the sand. He quickly stood up and picked up his cap.

President Donald Trump says Russia President Vladimir Putin once again denied meddling in the 2016 election during their conversations Saturday at a summit in Vietnam.
And Trump still won’t say definitively whether he believes Putin.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that every time Putin sees him he says: “I didn’t do that.”
Says Trump: “And I believe, I really believe that when he tells me that he means it.”
Multiple US intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election to try to help Trump win. Multiple investigations are also under way to determine whether Trump campaign officials colluded with them.
Trump dismissed the heads of those agencies as “political hacks.” He says there’s plenty of reason to be suspicious of their findings.

President Donald Trump is blaming Democrats for creating an “artificial barrier” to US-Russian relations by accusing Russia of meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Hanoi that the allegations, which he’s dismissed as a witch hunt in the past, are damaging his ability to work with Russia. And he says that’s putting lives at stake.
He says the “artificial barrier” gets in the way of putting global pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Without that obstacle, Trump says, “we could really be helped a lot, tremendously with Russia having to do with North Korea.”
He goes on to say that, “If we can save many, many, many lives by making a deal with Russia having to do with Syria, and then ultimately getting Syria solved and getting Ukraine solved and doing other things, having a good relationship with Russia’s a great, great thing. And this artificial Democratic hit job gets in the way,” he says, adding that, “people will die because of it.”

President Donald Trump has landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, as he heads toward the end of his first official visit to Asia.
Trump is attending a state banquet Saturday, before Sunday meetings with Vietnam’s president and prime minister. He next stops in the Philippines before heading back to the US
Trump spent the first half of Saturday meeting with world leaders gathered in the seaside city of Danang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Trump has been hammering leaders on trade and urging them to do more to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
He was also seen chatting on several occasions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump say they welcome President Bashar Assad’s “recent statement of commitment” to the Geneva process for resolving the conflict in Syria.
Putin and Trump met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Vietnam.
Assad’s commitment to the process, in line with a UN Security Council resolution, implies “constitutional reform and free and fair elections under the supervision of the United Nations” in which all Syrians can participate, including those in the diaspora, a Kremlin statement said.
Trump and Putin also reaffirmed support for de-escalation zones in Syria, including one in the southwest that was agreed to in the presidents’ previous meeting in July in Germany. They also called on UN members to increase humanitarian aid contributions for Syria.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump have reaffirmed their countries’ intentions to defeat the Daesh group in Syria.
The leaders reached an agreement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Vietnam on Saturday.
A Kremlin statement says they agreed to support existing communications channels to ensure the security of the US and Russian armed forces, as well as to prevent dangerous incidents involving the forces of partners fighting IS. The Kremlin says they confirmed that these efforts will continue until the final defeat of IS.
The Kremlin says they also agreed that the Syrian conflict “does not have a military solution,” and that final resolution must come in the framework of the so-called Geneva Process.
The White House so far has not commented.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be having a formal meeting while they’re in Vietnam for an economic summit, but they appear to be chumming it up nonetheless.
Snippets of video from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference Saturday show the two leaders chatting and shaking hands at events, including the traditional world leaders’ group photo.
US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in order to help Trump win. Putin has denied interfering in the election.
Later Saturday, Trump heads to the capital city of Hanoi to attend a state banquet.
 


US restricts food, metal imports on Uyghur forced labor concerns

Updated 23 November 2024
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US restricts food, metal imports on Uyghur forced labor concerns

  • Goods wholly or partially made by the sanctioned firms will be restricted from entering the US, says the Department of Homeland Security
  • China is accused of incarcerating over 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, although officials strongly deny this

WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday that it is barring imports from dozens more China-based companies — ranging from businesses in the metals to food industries — citing worries over forced labor.
Officials are adding around 30 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list, meaning that goods wholly or partially made by these firms will be restricted from entering the United States.
The new additions bring the total number on the list to 107, said the Department of Homeland Security.
The reason is that the companies were found to either source materials from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region or work with its local government “to recruit, transfer, and receive workers, including Uyghurs, out of Xinjiang,” said the US Trade Representative’s office.
Beijing has been accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities in Xinjiang, although officials strongly deny this.

The newly-targeted companies make goods ranging from agricultural to aluminum products, along with polysilicon materials.
They also mine and process metals like copper, gold and nickel, the USTR statement added.
Among them are companies tied to Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer CATL and China-linked Gotion too, a bipartisan US congressional committee noted on Friday.
Earlier this year, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and others flagged CATL and Gotion’s ties to two businesses, Xinjiang Nonferrous and Xinjiang Joinworld.
Both were included in the latest update.
The committee’s chairman John Moolenaar and other lawmakers released a statement saying: “While we are pleased with this initial step, we remain concerned that CATL and Gotion’s supply chains are deeply tied to the Xinjiang region.”
The rule comes into effect on November 25.
“Companies should not secure unfair advantages by exploiting workers,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
“We will enforce our laws to address forced labor and prevent companies that violate workers’ rights from benefiting from the US market,” she added in a statement.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was signed into law in 2021.
 


Trump plans to assemble investigative teams to look into 2020 election, Washington Post reports

Updated 23 November 2024
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Trump plans to assemble investigative teams to look into 2020 election, Washington Post reports

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump plans to assemble investigative teams at the Department of Justice to search for evidence in battleground states that fraud tainted the 2020 election, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing a source.
Trump, who won the 2024 election but lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, has falsely claimed that he lost the 2020 election due to extensive voter fraud, a view shared by millions of his supporters.
Trump was indicted last year on federal charges for his attempts to overturn the election. The charges stemmed from an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The Washington Post, citing two people close to Trump’s transition team, reported that Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with Smith.


Dutch court weighs a lawsuit against arms sales to Israel

Updated 23 November 2024
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Dutch court weighs a lawsuit against arms sales to Israel

  • Opening the case at the court in The Hague, Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to underline that the Dutch State does not contest the gravity of the situation in Gaza, nor is the status of the West Bank”

THE HAGUE: Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court on Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.
The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, among others, the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
“Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “is using Dutch weapons to wage war,” said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.
“Dutch weapons are killing children every day in Palestine, including my family,” said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser to Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit. Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza.
Opening the case at the court in The Hague, Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to underline that the Dutch State does not contest the gravity of the situation in Gaza, nor is the status of the West Bank.”
“Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the state if the state can be expected to do more or act differently than it is currently acting,” she added.
She acknowledged this was a “sensitive case,” saying: “It’s a whole legal debate.”
The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.
Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.
“It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export license to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army’s activities in Gaza or the West Bank,” said Veldhuis.
The case comes one day after another court based in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister.

 


How COP29 outcome may impact countries most affected by climate change

Updated 22 November 2024
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How COP29 outcome may impact countries most affected by climate change

  • UN Climate Change Conference in Baku brought together policymakers, researchers and environmentalists from 200 countries
  • Discussions covered energy transition, climate finance, loss and damage funding and environmental cost of geopolitical tensions

BAKU, Azerbaijan: The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference concluded in the capital of Azerbaijan on Friday with climate activists, world leaders and investors reflecting on climate change’s global impacts and the urgent need for actionable solutions.

This year’s event emphasized financing mechanisms, particularly to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable nations, and especially the developing countries most affected by climate change.

COP29 — the 29th Conference of the Parties under the United Nations climate organization UNFCCC — ran from Nov. 11 to 22 and brought together policymakers, researchers, and environmentalists from 200 countries.

A dominant theme was energy transition, as fossil fuel emissions remain the biggest driver of global warming.

The UN reports that burning coal, oil, and gas accounts for more than 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and roughly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.

“War creates a climate crisis not just where it happens; it pollutes air, water, and land,” said one of the participants at COP 29. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shalhoub)

Policymakers argued that reducing reliance on traditional fuels and adopting modern energy solutions could significantly shrink the global carbon footprint and bring the world closer to net-zero targets.

The University of Exeter’s Global Carbon Budget recently projected total CO2 emissions to rise from 40.6 billion metric tons in 2023 to 41.6 billion in 2024.

COP29 has been called "the finance COP," referring to the significance of funding to put an end to the rapid increase of global temperatures. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shalhoub)

Sharing his perspective on the COP29 negotiations and the change he hopes to see, climate activist Philip McMaster, known on social media as SustainaClaus, told Arab News he is campaigning for a a healthier environment for children.

“The message of SustainaClaus is ‘Make childhood great again.’ Why? Because we all had a childhood before,” he said on the sidelines of the conference. “It was either great or not, but it was a very important period of time, and that is what these negotiations should be about: how we make the world a better place for the next generations.”

He added: “I hope to see global change.”

DID YOUKNOW?

• In the first week of COP29, as a step to foster sustainable energy, Saudi Arabia signed an executive program with Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to strengthen collaboration on renewable energy development.

• The COP29 agenda included energy transition, finance, urbanization and Article 6.

• Climate finance was the main topic discussed in Baku, along with the need to raise funds for vulnerable nations.

Military activity also emerged as a significant environmental threat. Olga Lermak, communications lead at Greencubator, a Ukraine-based cleantech accelerator, noted the ecological devastation caused by war.

“War creates a climate crisis not just where it happens; it pollutes air, water, and land,” she said.

Harmony among people is a top priority to maintain a healthier environment, according to some activists. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shalhoub)

Ukraine accounts for 35 percent of Europe’s biodiversity, including 70,000 plant and animal species, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Among its endangered animals are the sandy blind mole-rat, the Russian desman, and the saker falcon.

The country’s ongoing conflict with Russia has caused significant damage to that biodiversity, according to Lermak.

“I hope that the negotiations held here bring great solutions, something that will help us to move forward,” she said. “I hope it is not just conversations, not just talking, but real action after this.”

Opinion

This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)

Another key issue debated at COP29 was loss and damage funding — addressing “unavoided” damage caused by climate change in the most vulnerable countries as well as “unavoidable” damage such as that caused by rising sea levels. Investment in emissions reduction was one of the key solutions put forward for dealing with unavoided damage.

Researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change estimate that the loss and damage needs of vulnerable countries will amount to between $130 billion and $940 billion in 2025 alone.

Gloria Bulus, team lead at Nigeria’s Bridge that Gap Initiative, emphasized that beyond highlighting loss and damage, there must also be a focus on delivering investment and implementing concrete solutions.

Gloria Bulus, team lead at Nigeria’s Bridge that Gap Initiative. ( AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shalhoub)

“We are expecting a lot to be (invested) in terms of the loss and damage, so that it goes beyond the speeches,” she said.

Highlighting some of the pressing environmental challenges her country is facing, Bulus expressed her hope for “fair” negotiations.

“Negotiations have been very slow for us,” she said. “What we want is action. What we want is an outcome that favors people, where we have renewable energy transition.”

Among other steps, COP29 promised to secure “the highest ambition outcome possible,” proposing that wealthier countries contribute $250 billion annually to developing nations to support their efforts in tackling climate change.
 

 


UK car wash owners trafficked thousands of people from Middle East to Europe

Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court for their roles in a human trafficking ring. (Supplied)
Updated 22 November 2024
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UK car wash owners trafficked thousands of people from Middle East to Europe

  • Migrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran offered different tiers of service
  • Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir trafficked 100 people per week in trucks, ships and by plane

LONDON: Thousands of people from the Middle East were trafficked into Europe through a vast people smuggling network based out of a British car wash.

In an operation that at times resembled a travel agency, people from Syria, Iraq and Iran were offered different tiers of service to be smuggled into Europe by various routes. 

Two men pleaded guilty in a UK court on Friday to charges related to their roles in the people smuggling ring.

The UK’s National Crime Agency said Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 40, operated from the unlikely location of a car wash in Caerphilly, a town in Wales.

They were arrested in April 2023 after they had been placed under surveillance as part of an investigation that found they were trafficking about 100 people a week over a period of two years, the BBC reported.

 

 

The men used messaging and social media apps to advertise their services with videos from people who had made the journeys.

One video shows a man hidden in the back of a truck with other migrants.

“Lorry route agreement, crossing agreement with the knowledge of driver,” he says. “Here we have men, women and children. Thank God the route was easy and good.”

Another video shows a family traveling by plane. “We are very happy … this is the visa, may God bless him, we are really happy,” the migrant says.

Shamo and Khdir offered three tiers of service, the lowest being smuggling people into Europe by foot or vehicle; the next by cargo ships or yachts; and the highest level arranged travel by plane. 

The smuggling routes went through Turkiye, Belarus, Moldova and Bosnia and ended in Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France. The NCA said many of the migrants continued to the UK.

Payment was made using informal “hawala” money transfers through brokers based in Iraq and Istanbul.

Once a deposit was made, Shamo and Khdir would receive a message and arrange for the migrants to be transported by their specified route or timeframe. The two men used WhatsApp to communicate with people smugglers across Europe.

The NCA said they were part of a larger organized crime group and could have made hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds that is unlikely to be recovered, the BBC reported.

“Ali Khdir and Dilshad Shamo were leading a double life,” NCA Branch Commander Derek Evans said. “While on the surface they seemed to be operating a successful car wash, they were actually part of a prolific people smuggling group moving migrants across Europe and taking thousands in payment.

 

 

“We worked painstakingly to piece together their movements to prove their important roles in a group, from advertising their services through videos to boasting of successful trips on messaging groups.”

The UK’s Minister for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said criminals like Khdir and Shamo put countless lives at risk by smuggling vulnerable people in a “shameless attempt to make cash.”

She added: “We are taking action against the people smuggling gangs and will stop at nothing to dismantle their networks and bring justice to the system.”

Shamo and Khdir pleaded guilty 10 days into their trial at Cardiff Crown Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made smashing people smuggling gangs a key pledge of his election campaign earlier this year.

He has vowed to treat traffickers like terrorists and announced a new Border Security Command with additional powers to track human traffickers and shut down their bank accounts.

Politicians in the EU are battling to stem public anger at rising immigration with more than 380,000 illegal border crossings made into the EU in 2023.

Many fear that if conflicts in the Middle East escalate, Europe could face a steep rise in illegal migration similar to 2015 at the height of the Syrian Civil War.