ROME: A vessel operated by the charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) rescued nearly 600 migrants sailing on an overcrowded boat which was in distress off the island of Sicily on Saturday, the group said on Twitter.
“After three hours of operation, the 599 survivors, including women and children, are now safely aboard ... and being cared for by the medical team,” MSF tweeted, saying its vessel the Geo Barents had been conducting training activities when it was called in to undertake the rescue.
The migrants will be disembarked in the southern port of Bari, as assigned by the Italian authorities, MSF said, adding it would take around 40 hours to reach the port.
Charities have criticized the Italian administration of Giorgia Meloni, which takes a tough stance against illegal immigration, saying it often assigns ports too far away from the areas where rescues take place.
More than 47,000 migrant landings have been recorded in Italy so far this year, up from around 18,000 in the same period of 2022, interior ministry data show.
Charity vessel rescues almost 600 migrants off Italy
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Charity vessel rescues almost 600 migrants off Italy
- "After three hours of operation, the 599 survivors, including women and children, are now safely aboard ... and being cared for by the medical team," MSF tweeted
- The migrants will be disembarked in the southern port of Bari, as assigned by the Italian authorities
Trump wants to visit China as president, WSJ reports
- Trump has expressed interest in traveling to China in his first 100 days in office, the report said
US President-elect Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to travel to China after he takes office, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, quoting people familiar with the discussions.
Trump has expressed interest in traveling to China in his first 100 days in office, the report said, citing one of the people.
Trump’s inauguration is Monday, and Chinese state news agencies said on Friday that Chinese Vice President Han Zheng will attend as Beijing stands ready to strengthen cooperation.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, through their representatives, have discussed meeting in person, with one option involving the incoming American president inviting the Chinese leader to the US, the WSJ added.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
German ambassador warns of Trump plan to redefine constitutional order, document shows
- Ambassadors are not replaced automatically with the formation of a new government, unless a change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons
BERLIN: Germany’s ambassador to the United States has warned that the incoming Trump administration will rob US law enforcement and the media of their independence and hand big tech companies “co-governing power,” according to a confidential document seen by Reuters.
The briefing document, dated Jan. 14 and signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, describes Donald Trump’s agenda for his second White House term as one of “maximum disruption” that will bring about “a redefinition of the constitutional order — maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states.”
“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,” it says.
Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment on the ambassador’s assessment.
The German foreign ministry said US voters chose Trump in a democratic election, and it would “work closely with the new US administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”
The outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has largely refrained from direct public criticism of Trump since the election, but the ambassador’s confidential assessment offers a blunt view from a senior German official.
Ambassadors are not replaced automatically with the formation of a new government, unless a change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons.
The document cites the judiciary, and especially the US Supreme Court, as central to Trump’s attempts to further his agenda, but says that despite the court’s recent decision to expand presidential powers, “even the biggest critics assume that it will prevent the worst from happening.”
Michaelis sees control of the Justice Department and FBI as key to Trump reaching his political and personal goals, including mass deportations, retribution against perceived enemies and legal impunity.
He says Trump has broad legal options to force his agenda on the states, saying “even military deployment within the country for police activities would be possible in the event of declared ‘insurrection’ and ‘invasion’.”
The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act bars the federal military from participating in domestic law enforcement, with some exceptions.
Michaelis also foresees a “redefinition of the First Amendment,” saying Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk are already taking actions against critics and non-cooperating media companies.
“One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and license revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,” he says in the document.
Musk’s repeated endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the Feb. 23 national election has drawn ire in Berlin, but the government has stopped short of unanimously leaving his platform.
Berlin endured a particularly difficult relationship with the United States during the first Trump administration, facing costly tariffs and criticism over its failure to meet the NATO target on defense expenditure.
Trump rethinking next week’s planned immigration raids, report says
- “President Trump has been clear from day one ... he’s going to secure the border and he’s going to have the deportation operation,” Homan told Fox News ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration is reconsidering plans for immigration raids in Chicago next week after details were leaked, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan told the Washington Post in an interview on Saturday.
The new administration “hasn’t made a decision yet,” said Homan, the former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the report. “We’re looking at this leak and will make decision based on this leak,” he added.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials and rights advocates had said Trump’s administration would launch sweeps in multiple US cities almost as soon as he takes office on Monday, with Chicago considered a likely first location.
Dulce Ortiz, president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told Reuters that as many as 200 ICE agents were expected to start raids in the Chicago area on Monday at 5 a.m., aiming to catch people heading into work or starting their day.
The enforcement had been expected to continue for several days, she said. An ICE spokesperson referred questions to the Trump transition team, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported Friday that agents would also conduct raids in New York and Miami. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that ICE would stage a week-long operation in Chicago with potentially hundreds of agents.
Trump said in an NBC News interview on Saturday that launching the mass deportations he promised in his election campaign would be a top priority. But he declined to identify the cities targeted or when deportations would start.
“It will begin very quickly,” said Trump. “We have to get the criminals out of our country.”
Homan himself had appeared to confirm the raids earlier on Saturday, telling Fox News that “targeted enforcement operations” would quickly pursue some of what he said were 700,000 migrants who are in the US illegally and under deportation orders. He indicated the efforts would occur in several cities.
“President Trump has been clear from day one ... he’s going to secure the border and he’s going to have the deportation operation,” Homan told Fox News ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Homan said the agency had carefully planned the operation and identified specific individuals for enforcement.
“Every target for this operation is well-planned, and the whole team will be out there for officers’ safety reasons,” he said.
Asked how the detention operations would be received in so-called sanctuary cities, which have pledged not to use city resources for federal immigration raids, Homan said sanctuary city policies were “unfortunate.”
In the case of targeted individuals who are already in local jails, he said the cities’ stance creates a threat to public safety. Cities would “release that public safety threat back into the community....and force (ICE) officers into communities,” Homan said.
He urged public officials of those cities to assist in the deportation raids, but added, “We’re going to do this, with or without their help. They are not going to stop us.”
Malaysia takes on ASEAN mantle but tempers expectations on Myanmar, South China Sea
- Malaysia hosts first ministerial meeting as ASEAN chair
- Says hopes should be managed on Myanmar, maritime code
LANGKAWI, Malaysia: Southeast Asian foreign ministers hold a closed-doors retreat in Malaysia on Sunday, as the country hosts its first meeting as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN amid an intensifying civil war in Myanmar and confrontations in the South China Sea.
Malaysia takes its turn as rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the bloc contends with Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and a faltering ASEAN peace process for Myanmar, where the ruling military plans to hold an election this year.
Malaysia is committed to addressing regional issues, but expectations on Myanmar and the advancing of talks on an ASEAN-China code of conduct for the South China Sea should be measured, a top official said.
“To say that we will have a solution immediately is going to be very ambitious,” Malaysian foreign ministry secretary general Amran Mohamed Zin told a media briefing ahead of the retreat on Langkawi island.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.
Despite being battered on multiple frontlines, its economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned, the junta is pushing to hold an election this year, which critics have widely derided as a sham to keep the military in power through proxies.
ASEAN has so far failed to implement a “Five-Point Consensus” peace plan unveiled months after the coup, which prescribes dialogue and an end to hostilities, and it has yet to discuss a common position on the election.
“Everybody wants to help Myanmar ... engagements have happened and will continue under Malaysia’s chairmanship,” Amran said.
’Tentative progress’
Each ASEAN member state has a role to play in ensuring the South China Sea is a “sea of peace and trade,” Amran said, adding tentative progress has been made toward creating a code of conduct with China, which claims sovereignty over most of the strategic waterway.
The South China Sea, a conduit for about $3 trillion of annual ship-borne trade, has been the site of heated standoffs in the past two years between ASEAN member the Philippines and China, a major source of the region’s trade and investment.
Vietnam and Malaysia have also made protests over the conduct of Chinese vessels in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says are operating lawfully in its territory.
The Philippine foreign minister on Saturday told Reuters it was time to start negotiating thorny “milestone issues” for the protracted code, including its scope and whether it can be legally binding.
Adib Zalkapli, managing director at geopolitical research firm Viewfinder Global Affairs, said there was political will in Malaysia to push for a political resolution for Myanmar, but concrete progress on rules for the South China Sea was unlikely under Malaysia’s chairmanship.
“It remains an issue that the claimant states have to manage and contain, to ensure it does not unnecessarily escalate,” Abib said.
Trump heads to Washington for inaugural celebrations to mark his return to power
- Biden will adhere to one of the most potent symbols of the democratic handover, welcoming Trump to the White House and joining him on the ride to the Capitol before Trump takes the oath of office
- Country music stars Carrie Underwood, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jason Aldean, disco band the Village People, rapper Nelly and musician Kid Rock are all scheduled to perform at inauguration-related ceremonies and events
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump was headed to Washington Saturday ahead of his second inauguration as president, four years after he departed the city under the shadow of an attack by his supporters on the Capitol.
Trump boarded a US military C-32 aircraft late Saturday afternoon in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife Melania Trump and their son Barron, on a flight dubbed Special Air Mission 47 — a nod to Trump becoming the 47th president on Monday.
It’s a courtesy that’s traditionally been extended by the outgoing administration to the incoming one. Trump did not make a government plane available to President Joe Biden ahead of his inauguration in 2021, and instead the Democrat flew to Washington on a privately chartered aircraft.
Trump’s celebration of his return to power was set to get underway on Saturday evening with a fireworks showcase at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, about 30 miles outside Washington.
With a blast of Arctic air expected to leave the nation’s capital facing frigid temperatures on Inauguration Day, organizers were also scrambling to move inside most of Monday’s outdoor events, including the swearing-in ceremony.
“I think we made the right decision. We’ll be very comfortable now,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Saturday.
On Pennsylvania Avenue leading to the White House, crews were breaking down metal bleachers that would have been used for outdoor inauguration viewing stands.
Even before Trump got to town, groups of protesters began taking to the street in the morning as a light sleet fell.
Melody Hamoud, a Washington resident, wore a pink hat that she had on at a 2017 march to protest Trump’s first inauguration.
“I just didn’t want to sit home and fret in front of the TV,” she said. “I wanted to feel like our movement still has energy and be around others who felt the same.”
Timothy Wallis, 58, flew in for the inauguration from Pocatello Idaho, with friends. The group had tickets to watch the ceremony outside but haven’t been able to get tickets to any of the indoor events.
“We found out on the plane,” he said about the change of plans.
Wallis said he was disappointed about the switch and a little bemused since he’s used to cold at home.
“We left snow to come here,” he said. “I brought my gloves!”
Trump, a Republican, left office in 2021 as a political pariah after his refusal to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden led a mob to overrun the Capitol. He then broke tradition by skipping Biden’s inauguration.
Biden will adhere to one of the most potent symbols of the democratic handover, welcoming Trump to the White House and joining him on the ride to the Capitol before Trump takes the oath of office.
The first time Trump was sworn into office eight years ago, the former reality TV star billionaire came in as an outsider disrupting Washington’s norms, delivering a dark inaugural address as his swearing-in drew large protests and some clashes in the street.
This time, Trump told NBC, the theme of his inauguration speech would be “unity and strength, and also the word ‘fairness.’”
As he takes power, the protests were far less noticeable, eclipsed by the ceremonies and celebrations around Trump’s taking power. As one more marker of Trump’s remarkable comeback, the events surrounding his inauguration will be more celebrity-studded than the last time, along with a noticeable turnout by a cadre of tech-world billionaires.
Country music stars Carrie Underwood, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jason Aldean, disco band the Village People, rapper Nelly and musician Kid Rock are all scheduled to perform at inauguration-related ceremonies and events. Actor Jon Voight and wrestler Hulk Hogan are also expected to make appearances, as are a crew of Trump-embracing business executives: Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
While Trump holds court at his Virginia golf club on Saturday evening, Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend a reception for Cabinet members and host a dinner in Washington.
On Sunday, the eve of his inauguration, Trump is scheduled to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery before heading to a rally at Capital One Arena in Washington. The rally will be followed by a private dinner.
On Inauguration Day, Trump will start with the traditional prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church before heading to the White House for a customary tea with the outgoing president and first lady.
Trump then heads to the Capitol, where his ceremony has been moved indoors as temperatures are set to plummet and make it the coldest Inauguration Day in 40 years. It’s not quite clear how the ceremony will be adapted to the Capitol Rotunda, which holds only 600 people. More than 250,000 guests were ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds.
Eight years ago, Trump’s critics were wrestling with whether to attend his inauguration, contemplating whether to buck long-standing practice and send a signal to the divisive new president. This year, much outspoken resistance to Trump has faded away, though there will be two notable absences: former first lady Michelle Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Neither gave an explanation as to why she was skipping the ceremony.
After Trump takes the oath of office and delivers his inaugural address, there will be a ceremonial farewell to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. As the new Republican government takes power, Trump will head to a signing ceremony at the Capitol to approve some of his first official acts, followed by a congressional luncheon and review of US troops.
The planned traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue has morphed into an indoor event because of the cold, with Trump again planning to speak to his gathered supporters before he heads to the White House for a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. A trio of glitzy balls will follow in the evening, punctuated by musical performances.
Trump’s arrival in Washington will once again be accompanied by protests and vigils on issues such as abortion, immigration rights and, this time, the Israel-Hamas war, but the feel and the force of those demonstrations were different from the outset of his first term.
The Women’s March, spurred by women outraged over Trump’s win in 2017, drew more than 500,000 people to Washington and millions more in cities around the country, marking one of the largest single-day demonstrations in US history.
The march returned Saturday, rebranded as the People’s March, with organizers saying their focus will be less on Trump and more on broader goals around women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration, climate and democracy. It drew far fewer than eight years ago.
