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Former US president Trump indicted in classified documents probe

Former President Donald Trump listens as he speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023. (Photo courtesy: AP)
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Updated 09 June 2023
AFP
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Former US president Trump indicted in classified documents probe

  • Charges include violation of Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and conspiracy
  • Trump frames indictment as election interference by Justice Department ‘weaponized’ by Biden administration
Updated 09 June 2023
AFP

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president’s most serious legal threat yet as he pursues a second White House term.

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he broke the bombshell news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has faced federal charges.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Justice Department.

Trump attorney Jim Trusty told CNN that his client has been indicted on seven charges including the willful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy.

Though the precise details of the charges were not immediately clear, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times the conspiracy charge was related to obstruction of justice.

In his post, Trump, who is running for president again, said he has been summoned to a federal courthouse in Miami next Tuesday — the day before his 77th birthday.

His announcement came a day after US media said federal prosecutors had informed his lawyers that he is the target of the probe into his handling of classified documents.

Trump was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime — in his case over election-eve hush money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him.

That indictment was handed down by Manhattan’s district attorney in March.

In a statement after his initial online posts, the Trump campaign lashed out at what it called an “unprecedented abuse of power,” and called for the indictment to be thrown out.

In a defiant video released after he shared the news, Trump repeatedly declared his innocence and framed the indictment as a form of election interference by a Justice Department “weaponized” by the Biden administration.

“They come after me because now we’re leading in the polls again by a lot against Biden,” Trump said in the clip.

“Our country is going to hell and they come after Donald Trump... We can’t let this continue.”

Fellow Republicans swiftly stood by him, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, who has had a rollercoaster relationship with Trump.

“Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him,” McCarthy said in a statement.

“I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rival for the GOP presidential nomination, echoed Trump’s claims of a “weaponized” DOJ, adding on Twitter that he would “excise political bias” if elected president.

The Twitter account of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee posted a repeated Trump slogan: “WITCH HUNT.”

Special counsel Jack Smith, named by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after leaving the White House.

The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and obstruction-of-justice charges could be a result of his resisting efforts to recover the trove.

Trump eventually turned over 15 boxes containing almost 200 classified documents to the National Archives in January 2022 but was subpoenaed for any outstanding records in his possession.

When asked about the charges Thursday night, Smith’s spokesman Peter Carr told AFP: “We are declining to comment.”

The White House said it learned of the indictment from media coverage and a spokesperson declined to comment on the news, noting that the DOJ “conducts its criminal investigations independently,” CNN reported.

Some Democratic lawmakers spoke out following Thursday’s revelation.

Trump’s indictment “is another affirmation of the rule of law,” House Democrat Adam Schiff said.

“For four years, he acted like he was above the law,” he added. “But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been.”

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the documents case, telling a Fox News town hall event on June 1 that “everything I did was right.”

But he has openly acknowledged taking and storing the documents, undermining his lawyers’ suggestion that he took the stash inadvertently in the confusion of a chaotic departure.

“This evidence just adds to the mound of stuff that already exists, and no one piece is the ‘be all and end all,’ but when you put them all together, the case is so strong,” former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks told MSNBC.

“You cannot imagine his getting away with this.”

The latest indictment comes with Trump facing numerous other probes as he bids to be the Republican nominee to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024.

Smith is also looking at whether Trump should face charges over the 2021 US Capitol riot, and Georgia prosecutors are investigating whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome there.

Trump has already been charged with dozens of financial crimes as part of the alleged hush money scheme to silence the porn star, and is due to go on trial next March, in the middle of primary election season.

Topics: Donald Trump US president

Putin says Russia will keep testing new missile in combat

Updated 3 sec ago
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Putin says Russia will keep testing new missile in combat

Updated 3 sec ago
The Kremlin leader described the missile’s first use as a successful test, and said more would follow
“We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia,” he said

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would keep testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile in combat and had a stock ready for use.
Putin was speaking a day after Russia fired the new intermediate-range weapon into Ukraine for the first time, a step he said was prompted by Ukraine’s use of US ballistic missiles and British cruise missiles to hit Russia.
The Kremlin leader described the missile’s first use as a successful test, and said more would follow.
“We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia,” he said in televised comments to defense officials and missile developers.
“Moreover, we have a stock of such products, a stock of such systems ready for use.”
A US official, however, said the weapon Russia used was an experimental one. The official said Russia has a limited number of them and that this is not a capability that Russia is able to regularly deploy on the battlefield.
Intermediate missiles have a range of 3,000-5,500 km (1,860-3,415 miles), which would enable them to strike anywhere in Europe or the western United States from Russia.
Security experts said the novel feature of the Oreshnik missile was that it carried multiple warheads capable of simultaneously striking different targets — something usually associated with longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.
Ukraine said the missile reached a top speed of more than 13,000 kph (8,000 mph) and took about 15 minutes to reach its target from its launch.
The firing of the missile was part of a sharp rise in tensions this week as both Ukraine and Russia have struck each other’s territory with increasingly potent weapons.
Moscow says that by giving the green light for Ukraine to fire Western missiles deep inside Russia, the US and its allies are entering into direct conflict with Russia. On Tuesday, Putin approved policy changes that lowered the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons in response to an attack with conventional weapons.

SEVERE ESCALATION
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s use of the new missile amounted to “a clear and severe escalation” in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation. He said Ukraine was working on developing new types of air defense to counter “new risks.”
The Kremlin said the firing of the Oreshnik was a warning to the West against taking further “reckless” actions and decisions in support of Ukraine.
The Oreshnik was fired with conventional, not nuclear warheads. Putin said it was not a strategic nuclear weapon but its striking power and accuracy meant that its impact would be comparable, “especially when used in a massive group and in combination with other high-precision long-range systems.”
He said the missile was incapable of being shot down by an enemy.
“I will add that there is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasize once again that we will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production,” he said.

WHO keeps mpox at highest alert level

Updated 20 min 49 sec ago
AFP
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WHO keeps mpox at highest alert level

  • “The decision was based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field,” WHO said
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country hardest hit by the outbreak, followed by Burundi and Nigeria
Updated 20 min 49 sec ago
AFP

GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Friday it had decided to keep its alert for the mpox epidemic at the highest level, as the number of cases and countries affected rises.
“The decision was based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field, and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners,” it said in a statement.
“The WHO Director-General, agreeing with the advice of the (International Health Regulations) IHR Emergency Committee, has determined that the upsurge of mpox continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern,” it said, extending the emergency first declared on August 14.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country hardest hit by the outbreak, followed by Burundi and Nigeria.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.
The August emergency declaration was in response to a surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC that spread to nearby countries.
That and other mpox strains have been reported across 80 countries — 19 of them in Africa — so far this year, WHO has previously said.

Topics: MPOX World Health Organization (WHO)

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London’s Gatwick Airport reopens terminal following security alert

Updated 22 November 2024
Reuters
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London’s Gatwick Airport reopens terminal following security alert

  • Police sent a bomb disposal team to deal with a suspected prohibited item that they said had been found in luggage at the airport’s south terminal, 30 miles south of London
  • “The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” Gatwick said
Updated 22 November 2024
Reuters

LONDON: London’s Gatwick Airport, the second busiest airport in Britain, reopened a terminal on Friday after a security alert earlier in the day forced its evacuation and caused travel disruption for thousands of people.
Police sent a bomb disposal team to deal with a suspected prohibited item that they said had been found in luggage at the airport’s south terminal, 30 miles south of London.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” Gatwick said in a statement. “The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
The incident disrupted weekend travel plans for thousands of passengers, with more than 600 flights due to land or take off on Friday from Gatwick, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Thousands of passengers were seen outside the terminal and the surrounding area in videos posted online after the terminal shut for several hours. Emergency foil blankets were distributed to some of the passengers who were waiting in the cold, social media pictures showed.
In a separate incident earlier on Friday, London police carried out a controlled explosion near the US embassy in south London after discovering a suspect package. Police later said they believed it was a hoax.

Topics: Gatwick Airport security alert London

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New Bangladeshi tourism initiative empowers marginalized Indigenous groups

A tourist interacts with members of the Santal community in Rajshahi district, Bangladesh, Nov. 3, 2024. (BRAC)
Updated 22 November 2024
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New Bangladeshi tourism initiative empowers marginalized Indigenous groups

  • BRAC’s Othiti program helps uplift rural communities and their traditional skills
  • Pilot program is underway in Rajshahi district near the Bangladesh–India border
Updated 22 November 2024
SHEHAB SUMON

DHAKA: A new initiative by Bangladesh’s largest development organization is fostering community-based tourism in remote rural areas to empower Indigenous groups and help preserve their cultures.

There are more than 50 Indigenous groups in Bangladesh, most of whom, or about 1 million people, live in the flatland districts of the country’s north and southeast, and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, bordering India and Myanmar.

Launched in early November, the new tourism initiative spearheaded by BRAC is named Othiti, which means “guest” in Bengali.

The pilot program is underway in Rajshahi district on the northern bank of the Padma River, near the Bangladesh–India border.

“We started the journey of Othiti from Rajshahi. Tourists rarely visit this part of the country, but it is very rich, both culturally and historically. Starting from the mighty river Padma, there’s a lot of natural beauty over there,” Asif Saleh, BRAC executive director, told Arab News.

“We will not be confined within Rajshahi. There are plans to expand this tourism project in other parts of the country … in places like Sundarbans, Chottogram Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar. We will try to connect tourists particularly with the Indigenous communities of these areas to experience their traditions, culture, and customs. If tourists can experience the diversity of these areas, they can connect with them in a different way. It will make people prouder of the rich history and culture of our country.”

The project involves rural youth, students of the Rajshahi University, whom BRAC has employed as part-time guides to introduce visitors to their customs and traditional livelihoods.

“We have built a relationship of trust and reliability with these communities. We hope that tourists will become interested in the culture and customs of the Indigenous people, and have a better understanding and empathy towards them,” Saleh said.

“Our Othiti aims for the sector’s development as well as employment for the (local) people, which will benefit these communities … We began this project as a social enterprise. We may incur loss initially for many years, but ultimately, if the sector develops, it will attract many people.”

Indigenous communities in Bangladesh have been struggling with access to education, healthcare, and jobs. Many live in forest areas with inadequate infrastructure. Poverty and unemployment levels among these groups are much higher than among the non-Indigenous.

Moutushi Biswas, a BRAC consultant, said a number of initiatives under the Othiti program are meant to uplift the communities and their traditional skills.

For example, introducing tourists to the Premtoli village of potters helped increase demand for their earthenware and work.

“While visiting the pottery community, tourists are experiencing the craftsmanship of potters who have been engaged in this for many generations. They can experience it by themselves, making clay pots under the guidance of a traditional potter. It’s a very unique experience,” she said.

“This initiative is also strengthening the abilities of local communities … The locals who work with us are very enthusiastic about this. We are receiving huge cooperation from them.”

For Happy Soren, a 25-year-old student and Othiti guide, having tourists visit was not only strengthening the village’s economy but also helping raise awareness about her community.

“The tourists want to know our customs and religious beliefs. They want to know the reasons behind the special patterns and paintings on our houses … Our village becomes very festive when they visit us,” she said.

“We believe the tourists who experience our culture and heritage will play a role in developing our village after they go back to their own places and work. They will stand by our people.”

Topics: Bangladesh tourism BRAC

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Top court intervenes in New Delhi pollution crisis as respiratory cases spike

People walk through a thick layer of smog as air pollution shoots up in New Delhi on Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Updated 24 min 50 sec ago
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Top court intervenes in New Delhi pollution crisis as respiratory cases spike

  • Number of patients with respiratory diseases has increased two to threefold
  • Court orders Delhi authorities to set up checkpoints, prevent entry of commercial vehicles
Updated 24 min 50 sec ago
Sanjay Kumar

NEW DELHI: India’s top court intervened on Friday to request policing measures in New Delhi to contain severe air pollution that over the past week has led to a surge in hospital admissions for respiratory diseases.

Residents of the Indian capital again woke to a thick layer of toxic smog, with an overall Air Quality Index reading of 373, or “very poor,” according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

While conditions have slightly improved since Monday, when a medical emergency was declared with pollution reaching the “severe plus” AQI score of 484, the prolonged crisis prompted the Supreme Court to order the central and local governments to introduce new measures to contain it.

The court said during Friday’s hearing that it was “not satisfied” with the Delhi administration and police efforts to address the pollution and ordered the authorities to “ensure that check posts are immediately set up at all 113 entry points (to the capital)” to stop trucks and commercial vehicles from entering the city.

The move follows the court’s order earlier this week to suspend all construction work in the whole of New Delhi and the National Capital Region.

“It is a constitutional obligation of the central government and the states to ensure that citizens live in a pollution-free atmosphere,” the court said.

As toxic smog has persisted for over a week, Delhi authorities have shut all schools and moved classes online, while half of the government employees have been allowed to work from home.

The continuing crisis is already reflected in a surge of hospitalizations for respiratory disease.

“The cases related to lungs and respiratory problems have significantly risen,” Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News, adding that the patients coming to the hospital with respiratory issues are “two to three times the normal” amount.

“Especially for those who already have underlying lung disease, the problem can be significant, and if they develop a secondary pneumonia or an infection, then they require emergency admission,” Modi said.

Toxic smog arrives in New Delhi every winter as temperatures drop, trapping toxic pollutants from tens of millions of cars, as well as construction sites, factory emissions, and waste burning. It is aggravated by farmland fires in the country’s northwest and southeast, where farmers clear stubble to prepare fields to plant wheat.

Topics: Delhi Pollution India

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