GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan: Presenting himself as both vindicated and vindictive, a fired-up President Donald Trump on Thursday turned the findings of the Russia investigation into a political weapon at a Michigan rally that was part victory lap, part 2020 campaign push.
Trump unleashed a fervent diatribe about the inquiry, which he deemed “the greatest hoax in the history of our country.” He warned that those behind the probe “would be held accountable,” aired his grievances about the “unfair” media coverage and seethed that the matter was an attempt “to tear up the fabric of our great democracy.”
“After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is dead,” said Trump. “This was nothing more than a sinister effort to undermine our historic election victory and to sabotage the will of the American people.”
The rollicking 82-minute speech unfolded before a boisterous crowd in a key state that Trump swiped from Democrats in 2016. It marked his first political event since Attorney General William Barr released a summary that said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that his campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. With the cloud of the probe largely lifted, Trump is hoping to win re-election by keeping Michigan and several other Rust Belt states in his column.
“It’s going to be so much easier the second time: We’re one for one,” Trump boasted.
He basked in the adulation of his supporters at the Grand Rapids rally. The packed crowd, some of whom began to line up the night before, delivered a deafening roar for the president while unleashing its vitriol as he bashed the media and Democrats.
The president linked Mueller’s probe with the myriad investigations launched by House Democrats and tried to make the case that, after Mueller’s findings, further inquiries are partisan overreach.
“The Democrats now have to decide if they will continue to defraud the American public with this ridiculous bulls--t,” said Trump, who urged the opposing party to instead work with him on issues like infrastructure repair and drug pricing.
While Trump’s base has long been suspicious of Mueller, the president’s team believes independents and moderate Democrats who backed him in the last election but have since soured may return to the fold if convinced he was unfairly targeted. Trump used the moment to heighten his attacks on the media, which many Trump supporters believe unjustly fanned the flames of the special counsel’s probe in an effort to bring down the president.
Trump stood before a familiar backdrop: a giant American flag, signs reading “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” and, of course, “Make America Great Again.” Though the aftermath of the probe was at the forefront of his mind, Trump also ticked off what he portrayed as his administration’s accomplishments, including a booming stock market and victories over the Islamic State terror group.
He also framed the Democrats’ presidential candidates as “radical,” and slammed the Green New Deal, an ambitious, wide-ranging plan to combat climate change, as a “dangerous” reinvention of American society. But he spent relatively little time on his administration’s renewed push to overturn the Affordable Care Act, other than to declare that the “Republican Party will be the party of health care.” He didn’t present many details as to what the new GOP plan might be.
His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., provided a high-energy warm-up act and, in particular, savaged family foe Michael Avenatti, the celebrity lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, the porn star who alleged an affair with the president. Avenatti was arrested this week on charges of extortion.
“For this week only, MAGA stands for Michael Avenatti got arrested,” Trump Jr. boomed, taunting the once-rumored presidential candidate.
Loyal supporters started lining up in front of the Van Andel Arena on Wednesday evening, with some camping out in tents and sleeping bags overnight. By midafternoon, a crowd of thousands, many in red “Make America Great Again” hats, snaked for blocks around downtown Grand Rapids, just across the river from The Gerald Ford Presidential Museum.
Trump’s sojourn to the Midwest is expected to be the first of many.
His campaign is seeking to hold three key states that he swung from blue to red in 2016 — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — but that may prove difficult to hold after midterm elections showed rising Democratic energy. Still, advisers believe Trump’s core supporters remain enthusiastic heading into 2020.
With an eye on local matters, Trump touted his support for the automobile industry and announced he would reverse part of his administration’s own budget plan, which had proposed a 90 percent spending cut for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Trump said he would fully fund the cleanup program, offering the $300 million the program has typically received.
Even before Thursday’s barnburner, Grand Rapids held a special place in Trump lore.
On the eve of the 2016 election, Trump’s breakneck final blitz of rallies was meant to come to an end in Manchester, New Hampshire. But just days before, the Trump campaign tacked on one more rally in the western Michigan city after seeing data that showed a surge for their candidate. The Grand Rapids rally didn’t end until after midnight, bleeding into Election Day. Trump won Michigan by just 10,704 votes — his margins of victory in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were similarly small — and those close to the president have long pointed to the rally as a reason for his victory.
Trump turns Mueller probe’s findings into political weapon
Trump turns Mueller probe’s findings into political weapon
- Trump declares probe into Russian election meddling as “the greatest hoax in the history of our country”
- Warns that those behind the probe “would be held accountable”
UK plans to sign deals with Turkiye, Iraqi Kurdistan to halt migrants
- Top nationalities for small boat crossings to Britain are Afghan, Iranian, Vietnamese, Turkish, Syrian
- Italy has reduced migrant numbers by 62% after agreements with Libya, Tunisia
London: The UK is set to agree deals with several countries in a bid to prevent thousands of illegal migrants reaching Britain, the Sunday Times reported.
The deals will mirror those signed by Italy with other countries, with money exchanged in return for stopping migrants from setting off.
Those in discussions with the UK include Turkiye and Vietnam, as well as the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. Deals are expected to be signed by the year’s end.
Italy has managed to reduce the number of people crossing to it by 62 percent after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck deals with Tunisia and Libya.
Tunisia received patrol boats and €100 million ($105.4 million) to invest in education, energy and companies employed to halt migration, while Libya’s coast guard will be trained and equipped by Rome. The EU has paid Tunisia an additional €105 million.
However, both agreements have been criticized by human rights organizations over the treatment of migrants in Tunisia and Libya by local authorities.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Meloni in September, during which he praised Italy’s “upstream work” in North Africa.
“I have always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived,” he said.
The UK has seen continuous increases in the number of people entering the country illegally, with the Labour government pledging to “smash the gangs” running the trade across the English Channel.
By Nov. 11, the total to have made the crossing for 2024 stood at 32,900 people. In 2023, the total number of crossings was 29,437.
According to UK government statistics, the top five nationalities for small boat crossings for the year up to June were Afghan at 5,730 (18 percent of the total), Iranian at 3,844 (13 percent), Vietnamese at 3,031 (10 percent), Turkish at 2,925 (10 percent) and Syrian at 2,849 (9 percent).
A deal signed by the previous UK government and France gave Paris £500 million ($630.9 million) to stop the crossings. The UK also gives Turkiye significant funds to stop migrants reaching Europe.
Last week, Dutch police arrested a Turkish man suspected of being a “major supplier” of small boat equipment in Amsterdam following a joint operation by the UK’s National Crime Agency.
The UK government is keen to strike a deal with Iraqi Kurdistan, from which a number of trafficking gangs operate.
Earlier this year, high-profile trafficker Barzan Majeed, known as The Scorpion, was arrested in Iraq after being tracked down by the BBC in the city of Sulaymaniyah.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is known to have sent fact-finders to the region to assess the viability of an Italy-style deal.
Any deals are likely to involve funding and training for local security services, as well as potentially including return clauses for migrants who reach the UK.
A source told the Sunday Times: “The assessment made after that trip was that Kurdistani nationals monopolise every part of the journey made by small boat migrants from the procuring of the craft to putting people on the boats on the beaches in France.”
Pope Francis calls for investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute ‘genocide’
- First time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip
- Last year, Francis met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war
ROME: Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year.
It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, he said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its military has gone beyond the rules of war.
The book, by Hernan Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the Pope, is entitled “Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims toward a better world.” It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 jubilee. Francis’ yearlong jubilee is expected to bring more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome to celebrate the Holy Year.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope said in excerpts published Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa.
“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” he added.
Last year, Francis met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war and set off a firestorm by using words that Vatican diplomats usually avoid: “terrorism” and, according to the Palestinians, “genocide.”
Francis spoke at the time about the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians after his meetings, which were arranged before the Israeli-Hamas hostage deal and a temporary halt in fighting was announced.
The pontiff, who last week also met with a delegation of Israeli hostages who were released and their families pressing the campaign to bring the remaining captives home had editorial control over the upcoming book.
The war started when the militant Hamas group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250 as hostages and taking them back to Gaza, where dozens still remain.
Israel’s subsequent yearlong military campaign has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count doesn’t distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children.
The Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has triggered several legal cases at international courts in The Hague involving requests for arrest warrants as well as accusations and denials of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
In the new book, Francis also speaks about migration and the problem of integrating migrants in their host countries.
“Faced with this challenge, no country can be left alone and no one can think of addressing the issue in isolation through more restrictive and repressive laws, sometimes approved under the pressure of fear or in search of electoral advantages,” Francis said.
“On the contrary, just as we see that there is a globalization of indifference, we must respond with the globalization of charity and cooperation,” he added. Francis also mentioned the “still open wound of the war in Ukraine has led thousands of people to abandon their homes, especially during the first months of the conflict.”
Survivors still trapped after deadly Tanzania building collapse
- The four-story block came down at around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday in the east African country’s busy Kariakoo market
- Dar es Salaam has been the scene of a frenetic property boom with buildings shooting up at speed, often with scant regard for regulations
DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzanian rescue workers dug through the ruins of a collapsed building for a second day on Sunday, hoping to pull survivors from beneath the rubble.
The four-story block came down at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday in the east African country’s busy Kariakoo market, in the center of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Five people have been confirmed dead from the disaster, the fire brigade said. At least 70 people had been retrieved alive from the site.
Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Albert Chalamila on Sunday said there were more people still trapped in the basement floor of the shattered building, without specifying how many.
“We are communicating... and already we have supplied them with oxygen and water,” he said.
“They are stable and we believe they will be rescued alive and safe.”
The fire brigade chief John Masunga said the search and rescue had been hampered by the many walls making up the structure of the building.
In the aftermath of the building’s floors rapidly buckling beneath each other until they formed a mountain of debris, hundreds of first responders used sledgehammers and their bare hands to pull away masonry for hours.
Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were then brought in to help.
It is not clear why the commercial building collapsed but witnesses told local media that construction to expand its underground business space began on Friday.
The incident has renewed criticism over unregulated construction in the Indian Ocean city of more than five million people.
One of the world’s fastest growing cities, Dar es Salaam has been the scene of a frenetic property boom with buildings shooting up at speed, often with scant regard for regulations.
In 2013, a 16-story building collapsed in Dar es Salaam, killing 34 people.
Indian police battle Maoist rebels, five killed
- More than 10,000 people have died in the insurgency against the Maoists
- The clash took place in regions bordering Kanker and Narayanpur
RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces have killed five Maoist rebels in jungle clashes, an officer said Sunday, as security forces seek to quash the decades-long insurgency in the resource-rich central regions.
Gun battles took place in the Abujhmad forests of Chhattisgarh state on Saturday, taking the toll of the conflict in 2024 to around 200, one of the highest in years.
More than 10,000 people have died in the insurgency against the Maoists — known as the Naxalite movement, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous people.
“In the gunbattle five Maoists have been killed,” senior police officer P. Sunderraj said, adding that two of the rebels were women.
The clash took place in regions bordering Kanker and Narayanpur, with police seizing rifles and ammunition from the corpses.
Two officers were wounded in the clash.
India’s government has warned the insurgents to surrender, with Amit Shah, the interior minister, saying in September that he expected the rebellion to be defeated by early 2026.
The Naxalites, named for the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
They demanded land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for the local people, and made inroads in a number of remote communities.
India claimed to have confined the insurgency to about 45 districts in 2023, down from 96 in 2010.
Authorities have pumped in millions of dollars for new investments in local infrastructure projects and social spending.
India’s successful test of hypersonic missile puts it among elite group
- Missile is designed to carry payloads for ranges exceeding 1,500 km for armed forces
- India is striving to develop long-range missiles along with China, Russia and United States
NEW DELHI: India has successfully tested a domestically developed long-range hypersonic missile, it said on Sunday, attaining a key milestone in military development that puts it in a small group of nations possessing the advanced technology.
The global push for hypersonic weapons figures in the efforts of some countries, such as India, which is striving to develop advanced long-range missiles, along with China, Russia and the United States.
The Indian missile, developed by the state-run Defense Research and Development Organization and industry partners, is designed to carry payloads for ranges exceeding 1,500 km (930 miles) for the armed forces, the government said in a statement.
“The flight data ... confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy,” it added.
The test-firing took place from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam island off the eastern coast of Odisha state on Saturday, it said.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called the test a “historic achievement” in a post on X, adding that it placed India among a select group of nations possessing such critical and advanced technologies.
