Biden denounces ‘irresponsible’ Trump fight to reverse election

Donald Trump has refused to accept his loss on Nov. 3. (File/AFP)
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Updated 20 November 2020
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Biden denounces ‘irresponsible’ Trump fight to reverse election

  • Trump was behind “incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions”
  • Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College votes that ultimately decide who takes the White House

WILMINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday accused Donald Trump of brazenly damaging democracy, as the incumbent’s campaign to reverse his election loss through fraud claims was dealt another blow with a recount in Georgia.
Trump was behind “incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions,” Biden told reporters in his home state of Delaware.
“It’s hard to fathom how this man thinks,” said Biden. “I’m confident he knows he hasn’t won, is not going to be able to win and we’re going to be sworn in January 20th.”
Trump has refused to accept his loss on November 3, despite his opponent getting over six million more votes.
Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College votes that ultimately decide who takes the White House by 306 to 232, flipping five states that went to Trump four years ago.
That includes Georgia, where a hand recount of its five million ballots confirmed Thursday that Biden is the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the southern state in almost three decades.
The recount showed Biden had won by 12,284 votes, according to figures posted on Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger’s website — slightly fewer than the approximately 14,000 he originally led by.
Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis attacked the outcome and pledged the campaign will “pursue all legal options.”
After initially making baseless claims of widespread fraud, Trump has appeared to shift his strategy to asking states to overrule the will of voters.
In Michigan, Trump placed a telephone call to a Republican on a once-obscure board who wants to withdraw her certification of the election result in a heavily Democratic county that includes majority-Black Detroit.
“He was checking to make sure I was safe after seeing/hearing about the threats and doxxing,” Wayne County Board of Canvassers chairwoman Monica Palmer told the Detroit Free Press, referring to personal information posted about her on social media.
Trump also reportedly invited Michigan Republican lawmakers to the White House, even as his campaign withdrew a federal lawsuit that asked the courts to block final certification of the state’s results.
Biden won Michigan on November 3 by 155,000 votes, a margin of victory more than 10 times higher than Trump’s when he won the state in 2016.
Asked about Trump’s calls with officials there, Biden said it was “another incident where he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in American history.”
Republican senator Mitt Romney, a former presidential candidate and frequent Trump critic, accused the president of resorting to “overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election.”
“It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American president,” he said in the statement posted on Twitter late Thursday.

Earlier Thursday Trump had dispatched his lawyer Rudy Giuliani to give a news conference where he read affidavits claiming fraudulent voter activity in multiple states and said the campaign would file a new lawsuit in Georgia.
Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, brazenly accused Democrats of being “crooks” trying “to steal an election from the American people.”
“It changes the results of the election in Michigan if you take out Wayne County,” said Giuliani, who repeatedly wiped sweat from his brow and at one point had a dark liquid which may have been hair dye snaking down the side of his face.
As Giuliani and other Trump lawyers outlined claims that included charges of communist involvement, the president — apparently watching on television — took to Twitter to applaud them for laying out “an open-and-shut case of voter fraud.”
Chris Krebs, the top US election security official who was fired by Trump after calling the election the most secure ever, wrote on Twitter that the news conference was “the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history” and “possibly the craziest.”

In Georgia, some discrepancies were found in Republican leaning counties, according to Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system manager who helped monitor the so-called risk-level audit.
“The good part was, the audit did its job. It found those tranches of votes,” he told Fox News.
The issues, which were chalked up to human error and not fraud, included memory cards that were not scanned in Douglas and Walton counties, more than 2,700 missing votes in Fayette County, and 2,600 ballots from Floyd County that were not scanned.
The focus on Georgia is not just because of the recount. The state’s two US Senate races are going to runoffs on January 5 that will determine control of the chamber and the ability of Biden, who celebrates his 78th birthday Friday, to push through his agenda.


Netanyahu expected to talk tariffs with Trump in Washington on Monday, officials say

Updated 2 min 51 sec ago
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Netanyahu expected to talk tariffs with Trump in Washington on Monday, officials say

BUDAPEST/WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Monday to discuss recently announced tariffs with US President Donald Trump, three Israeli officials said on Saturday.
The impromptu visit was first reported by Axios, which said that if the visit takes place, the Israeli leader would be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump in person to try to negotiate a deal to remove tariffs.
Netanyahu’s office has not confirmed the visit, that would likely also include discussions on Iran and Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The surprise invite by Trump came in a phone-call on Thursday with Netanyahu, who is presently on a visit to Hungary, when the Israeli leader raised the tariff issue, according to the Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
As part of a sweeping new tariff policy announced by Trump, unspecified Israeli goods exports to the United States face a 17 percent tariff. The US is Israel’s closest ally and largest single trading partner.
An Israeli finance ministry official said on Thursday that Trump’s latest tariff announcement could impact Israel’s exports of machinery and medical equipment.
Israel had already moved to cancel its remaining tariffs on US imports on Tuesday. The two countries signed a free trade agreement 40 years ago and about 98 percent of goods from the US are now tax-free.


Thousands rally for South Korea’s impeached ex-president Yoon

Updated 50 min 43 sec ago
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Thousands rally for South Korea’s impeached ex-president Yoon

  • The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Friday to remove Yoon over the December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule

SEOUL: Thousands protested in the South Korean capital Saturday in support of disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office a day earlier over his bungled martial law declaration.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Friday to remove Yoon over the December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, triggering fresh elections to be held by June after months of political turmoil.
A long wait for the court’s ruling had heightened tensions in the Asian nation, fueling far-right support for Yoon and weekly rival rallies in capital Seoul.
His supporters took to the streets in the capital and braved the rain on Saturday, chanting “impeachment is invalid!” and “nullify the snap election!“
“The Constitutional Court’s decision destroyed our country’s free democracy,” said protester Yang Joo-young, 26.
“Speaking as someone in my 20s or 30s, I’m deeply worried about the future.”
Yoon had defended his martial law attempt as necessary to root out “anti-state forces” and what he claimed were threats from North Korea.
But there were many scenes of jubilation in Seoul on Friday from those opposed to Yoon’s rule, with people hugging and crying after the ruling was delivered.
Yet Yoon had found backing from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers who experts say used misinformation to court support for the former star prosecutor.
“Yoon’s presidency has revealed the societal cracks based on political polarization and misinformation,” Minseon Ku, a postdoctoral fellow at William & Mary Global Research Institute, told AFP.
The court ruled that Yoon’s actions in December had posed a “grave threat” to the country’s stability.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is seen as the frontrunner in the next election, experts say, and his party has taken a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea.
Some Yoon supporters were worried about the prospect of a Lee presidency.
“I honestly believe South Korea is finished,” said pro-Yoon supporter Park Jong-hwan, 59.
“It feels like we’ve already transitioned into a socialist, communist state.”


India’s Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

Updated 05 April 2025
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India’s Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

  • Indian official says both leaders discussed Bangladesh’s request for Hasina Wajid’s extradition
  • Public opinion in Bangladesh has soured over India’s sheltering of the former prime minister

BANGKOK/NEW DELHI: India’s prime minister urged Bangladesh’s interim leader to avoid rhetoric that marred bilateral relations during their first meeting on Friday since the ouster of Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, India’s foreign ministry said.
Relations between the South Asian neighbors, which were robust under Hasina, have deteriorated since she fled the country last August, in the face of massive student-led protests, and sought shelter in India.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who took over as the chief adviser of an interim government in Dhaka after Hasina’s exit, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday on the fringes of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.
“Prime Minister (Modi) urged ... that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided,” India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters.
“(Modi) reiterated India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh,” Misri said, adding that the Indian leader had also stressed New Delhi’s desire for “a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism.”
Bangladesh described the 40-minute exchange between the two leaders as “candid, productive, and constructive.”
Yunus told Modi that Bangladesh wanted to work with him to set the relationship on the right track for the benefit of both countries, Yunus’s press office said in a statement.
Public opinion in Bangladesh has turned against India, in part over its decision to provide sanctuary to Hasina. New Delhi has not responded to Dhaka’s request to send her home for trial.
‘ATROCITIES’
The two leaders discussed Bangladesh’s request seeking Hasina’s extradition, Misri said, without elaborating further.
“She has consistently made false and inflammatory accusations against the interim government of Bangladesh,” the statement from Bangladesh quoted Yunus as saying.
Yunus requested New Delhi take appropriate measures to restrain Hasina from making incendiary remarks while she remained in India, said the statement, adding that Modi said India did not support any particular party in Bangladesh.
India’s Misri said Modi had asked Yunus to help maintain border security and stability, and expressed his hope that Bangladesh would thoroughly investigate all cases of “atrocities” committed against people from minority groups, including Hindus.
India has repeatedly urged Bangladesh to protect its minority Hindus, saying they were being targeted in the Muslim-majority country since Yunus took charge. Dhaka says the violence has been exaggerated and is not a communal issue.
“The hope would be that this meeting would start the process of rebuilding some engagement,” said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think-tank.
“I think at this point, simply stabilizing the relationship perhaps should be the priority.”
With longstanding cultural and business ties, the two nations share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border. India also played a key role in the 1971 war with its rival Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Modi and Yunus met on the sidelines of a summit in Bangkok of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, a grouping that also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.


Trump dismisses stock market’s tariff plunge, says ‘China played it wrong’ by hitting back

Updated 05 April 2025
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Trump dismisses stock market’s tariff plunge, says ‘China played it wrong’ by hitting back

  • Says critics got it all wrong, even as the Fed warned that the tariffs could lead to “higher inflation and lower growth”
  • “This is a great time to get rich,” he wrote on social media, adding, “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!”

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump goaded China on Friday after the US’s chief economic rival retaliated against his tariffs, and he dismissed falling stock markets over the growing global trade war, touting it as a chance to “get rich.”
“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do!” Trump posted on Truth Social, writing the message in his trademark all-caps.
For a second day, markets plunged, wiping vast sums off investment and retirement portfolios alike. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned the tariffs were likely to spur “higher inflation and lower growth.”

 

Wall Street went into free fall, following similar collapses in Asia and Europe. The Dow Jones dropped 5.5 percent and the S&P 5.97 percent.
Trump, who unveiled his barrage of import duties against dozens of countries Wednesday, was unrepentant, posting that “my policies will never change.”
“This is a great time to get rich,” he wrote.
The 78-year-old Republican, who was spending a long weekend golfing at his course in Palm Beach, Florida, is banking on the theory that the might of the world’s biggest economy will force foreign companies to manufacture on US soil, rather than continue to import goods.
“ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!” Trump touted in yet another Truth Social post Friday.

China, however, responded by announcing its own new 34 percent tariffs on US imports starting April 10.
Beijing said it would sue the United States at the World Trade Organization and also restrict export of rare earth elements used in high-end medical and electronics technology.
Other big US trading partners held back as they digested the unfolding international standoff and fears of a recession.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the EU, which Trump hit with a 20 percent tariff, will act in “a calm, carefully phased, unified way” and allow time for talks.
However, he also warned the bloc “won’t stand idly by.”

EU leaders mull retaliation
France and Germany have said the 27-nation EU could respond by imposing a tax on US tech companies.
Economy Minister Eric Lombard urged French companies to show “patriotism” after President Emmanuel Macron argued it would send the wrong message if they pressed ahead with investments in the United States.
Lombard said the EU’s retaliation would not necessarily involve tit-for-tat tariffs and could use other tools, pointing to data exchange and taxes instead.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for a “calm-headed” approach after Trump slapped 24 percent tariffs on Japanese-made goods.
Trump said he’d had a “very productive” call with Vietnam’s top leader after the southeast Asian manufacturing hub was hit with extraordinary 46 percent US duties.
Separate US tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-made cars went into effect this week, and Canada swiftly responded with a similar levy on US imports.
Stellantis — the owner of Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat — paused production at some Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.
But Japanese carmaker Nissan said on Friday it would revise plans to reduce production in the United States. And Sweden’s Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, said it would increase its US production.

“Messing around with people’s lives”
Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar lashed out at the tariffs, saying they would hurt regular Americans.
Trump is “messing around with people’s lives... while he’s out golfing!” she said.

 

And there was rare criticism from the right too, with Trump loyalist Republican Senator Ted Cruz worrying that the tariffs could “hurt jobs and hurt America.”
The Fed chairman’s speech also highlighted concerns that the tariff shockwaves will reach deep into the US economy.
But minutes before Powell suggested the Fed will continue to hold off from cutting its benchmark lending rate, Trump pressured him to do so.
“CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!” he posted — once again defying the longstanding custom in which the White House respects the central bank’s independence.
In a more concrete sign of how tariffs are impacting trade, Nintendo announced it was delaying preorders of its hotly anticipated Switch 2 gaming console while it assesses “evolving” conditions.
 


Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party over Israel contract

Updated 05 April 2025
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Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party over Israel contract

  • An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon

WASHINGTON: A pro-Palestinian protest by Microsoft employees interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration Friday, the latest backlash over the tech industry’s work to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military.
The protest happened as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was presenting product updates and a long-term vision for the company’s AI assistant product, Copilot, to an audience that included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” shouted Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad as she walked toward the stage and Suleyman paused his speech. “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”

 pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a kufiyyeh as they interrupt Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of a 50th Anniversary presentation at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash. (AP)

“Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” Suleyman said. Aboussad continued, shouting that he and “all of Microsoft” had blood on their hands. She also threw onto the stage a keffiyeh scarf, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people, before being escorted out of the event.
A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted another part of the celebration during which Gates, Ballmer and current CEO Satya Nadella were on stage — the first public gathering since 2014 of the three men who have been Microsoft’s CEO.
An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The story also contained details of an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that struck a vehicle carrying members of a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.
In February, five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for protesting the contracts. While the February event was an internal meeting, Friday’s protest was far more public — a livestreamed showcase of the company’s past and future.
“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard,” said a statement from the company Friday. “Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
Microsoft declined to say whether it would take further action.