Trump makes a victor’s return to Washington and pledges a ‘smooth’ transition of power from Biden

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP)
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Updated 13 November 2024
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Trump makes a victor’s return to Washington and pledges a ‘smooth’ transition of power from Biden

  • Sitting in front of a crackling fire in the Oval Office, the former rivals shook hands as reporters looked on
  • Biden called Trump “Mr. President-elect and former president” before settling on “Donald”

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump made a victor’s return to Washington on Wednesday, visiting the White House for a nearly two-hour meeting with President Joe Biden and committing to a straightforward transition of power as the president-elect moves quickly to build out his new administration.
Sitting in front of a crackling fire in the Oval Office, the former rivals shook hands as reporters looked on. Biden called Trump “Mr. President-elect and former president” before settling on “Donald.”
“Congratulations,” the Democrat told the Republican. “I look forward to having, like they said, a smooth transition,” Biden said. “Welcome. Welcome back.”
Trump replied, “Thank you very much,” saying that “politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.”
He said the transition between the outgoing and incoming administrations “will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe.” Trump, who has long disputed his 2020 election loss to Biden, did not invite Biden to the White House during the transition four years ago.

 

The scene put in stark relief the remarkable political rebound for Trump, who departed Washington in January 2021 as a diminished, politically defeated leader after helping incite a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol. Today, he is preparing to come back to power with what he and his GOP allies see as a mandate for governance.
Neither he nor Biden answered questions shouted by the media after their brief remarks. At one point, Biden looked at Trump, who moved his head to the side and gave a small shrug but did not respond.
After his election win in 2016, Trump met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and called it “a great honor.” But he soon was back to heaping insults on his predecessor.
While refraining Wednesday from the bombast seen as a candidate, Trump looked at ease in the Oval Office, unlike in 2016, when he appeared nervous and subdued when meeting with Obama eight years ago.
Trump left the White House after his session with Biden without addressing the large contingent of reporters on the White House driveway waiting outside the West Wing in case he did make an appearance.
Each was joined by his chief of staff for the private meeting that is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power, but a ritual that Trump declined to participate in four years ago after losing to Biden.
First lady Jill Biden greeted Trump upon his arrival at the White House and gave him a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, Melania Trump, who did not make the trip to Washington. The letter also expressed the first lady’s team’s readiness to assist with the transition.
As Trump met with Biden, Trump sent out a fundraising email to supporters saying that he “is inside the White House right now conducting a very important meeting.”
Trump had flown from Florida in the morning, joining up with billionaire Elon Musk for a morning session with House Republicans. That discussion came as Trump prepares for a potentially unified Republican government and sweep of power.
Back in Washington for the first time since his election victory, Trump told the GOP lawmakers, “It’s nice to win.”
He received a standing ovation from House GOP members, many of whom took cellphone videos of Trump as ran through their party’s victories up and down the ballot, in what would be, under the constitutional limits, his final presidential election.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say he’s good we got to figure something else,” Trump said to laughter from the lawmakers.

The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment prevents presidents from running for a third term.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said of Trump’s arrival, “He is the comeback king.”
“We owe him a great debt of gratitude,” Johnson said.
Trump’s reemergence comes amid Republican congressional leadership elections — with the potential for the president-elect to place his imprint on the outcome. He endorsed Johnson’s return to the speaker’s office with the president-elect saying he is with Johnson all the way, according to a person familiar with the remarks but not authorized to publicly discuss the private meeting.
Musk joining Trump on the return to Washington comes after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, and participating in discussions as the incoming Trump administration prepares to transition from Biden’s.
Trump has named Musk to a government efficiency advisory role in his incoming administration. Some close to Trump and his team now see Musk as the second most influential figure in Trump’s immediate orbit, after Susie Wiles, the campaign manager who is Trump’s incoming chief of staff.
Trump has continued to lie about widespread voter fraud that did not occur. In addition to not inviting then-president-elect Biden to the White House, Trump left Washington without attending the inauguration. It was the first time that had happened since Andrew Johnson skipped Ulysses S. Grant’s swearing-in 155 years ago.
Biden insists that he’ll do everything he can to make the transition to the next Trump administration go smoothly. That’s despite having spent more than a year campaigning for reelection and decrying Trump as a threat to democracy and the nation’s core values. Biden then bowed out of the race in July and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.
Traditionally, as the outgoing and incoming presidents meet in the West Wing, the first lady hosts her successor upstairs in the residence, But her office said Melania Trump wasn’t attending, saying in a statement that “her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success.”
When Trump left Washington in 2021, even some top Republicans had begun to decry his role in helping incite the mob that stormed the Capitol mere weeks earlier. But his win in last week’s election completes a political comeback that has seen Trump once again become the unchallenged head of the GOP.
Wednesday’s trip was not the first time Trump has returned to the Capitol area since the end of his first term, though. Congressional Republicans hosted Trump over the summer, as Trump was again solidifying his dominance over the party.
In last week’s election, Republicans wrested the Senate majority from Democrats and are on the cusp of keeping control of the House, are in the midst of their own leadership elections happening behind closed doors Wednesday. Johnson has pulled ever-closer to Trump as he worked to keep his majority — and his own job with the gavel.
Trump left Washington without visiting his party’s senators. But, while he was in town, they chose Sen. John Thune of South Dakota in a three-way race to replace outgoing GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Trump’s allies were pushing GOP senators to vote for Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.


Mali junta appoints general to replace sacked civilian PM

Updated 8 sec ago
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Mali junta appoints general to replace sacked civilian PM

BAMAKO: Mali’s junta has named military officer Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga the new prime minister after sacking civilian Premier Choguel Kokalla Maiga a day earlier following his criticism of the military leaders.

Abdoulaye Maiga had, until now, served as government spokesman in the West African country, which is plagued by extremist and separatist violence and has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

“Major General Abdoulaye Maiga is appointed prime minister,” said a decree issued by junta chief Gen. Assimi Goita and read out by the secretary general of the presidency on state television station ORTM.

Abdoulaye Maiga was not in the first group of colonels who overthrew the civilian president in August 2020 and who have since been promoted to generals, but he quickly joined them.

His appointment to replace civilian prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga confirms the military’s hold on power.

In June 2022, the junta promised to organize elections and hand over power to civilians by the end of March 2024 but later postponed elections indefinitely. Gen. Maiga will have to form a new government to replace the one sacked on Wednesday, which the junta closely controlled. Some key junta figures, such as Defense Minister Gen. Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague, were Cabinet members.


Kenya scraps Adani deals as Ruto attempts to reset presidency

Updated 7 min 10 sec ago
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Kenya scraps Adani deals as Ruto attempts to reset presidency

NAIROBI: Kenyan President William Ruto sought on Thursday to turn the page on a challenging year, canceling controversial deals with India’s Adani Group and vowing to tackle corruption, police kidnappings, and gender-based violence.

With the country on edge over multiple issues, there was a heavy police presence around parliament in Nairobi ahead of Ruto’s annual State of the Nation address.

His speech did not shy away from the many controversies during his administration.

The biggest shock was his announcement that India’s Adani Group would no longer be involved in plans to expand Kenya’s electricity network and its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International.

The Adani Group was to invest $1.85 billion in the Jomo Kenyatta airport and $736 million in state-owned utility KETRACO, despite claims of corruption in the procurement process.

The final straw may have come when the Indian group’s founder, Gautam Adani, was charged in the US on Wednesday with massive bribery and fraud. Ruto said his decision was based on “new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations.”

He also addressed the deep concern in Kenya over a spate of abductions by security forces following mass protests between June and August over an unpopular finance bill.

Rights groups accuse the security forces of a brutal crackdown, with more than 60 people killed during the protests and dozens kidnapped in the following months, many of them tortured and some killed.

Ruto said many detentions were legitimate actions against “criminals and subversive elements.”

But he added: “I condemn any excessive or extrajudicial action which puts the life and liberty of any person at risk, including disappearances and threats to life.”

He also addressed gender-based violence after reports that 97 women have been murdered in the last three months alone.

To loud cheers from the women in parliament, Ruto called on all of society to help raise boys “into morally upright men who will never need to affirm their masculinity at the expense of women.”

Ruto won a hard-fought election in 2022 with a pitch to help the country’s poor.

However, large debts have left Kenya spending more on interest payments than health and education.

While economic growth has remained relatively strong at 5.4 percent last year, a third of Kenya’s 52 million people live in poverty.

“It is undeniable that for many Kenyans, times are hard, and the struggle to meet their basic daily needs is daunting,” Ruto said.

But he listed a series of successes, including taming inflation — down from 9.6 percent to 2.7 percent over two years — stabilizing the currency and increasing agricultural production.

He also heralded a new health insurance scheme, beset by technical difficulties since its launch last month. 

He vowed it would ultimately provide “accessible and affordable” health care nationwide.

Ruto came into his speech with an urgent need to reset his presidency after mounting criticism, including from church leaders, over abductions, the cost-of-living crisis, and corruption.

Recent weeks have also seen international condemnation over the forced extradition of foreign nationals kidnapped on Kenyan soil, including four Turkish refugees and the Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.


Heavy gunfire erupts in South Sudan’s capital Juba

Updated 21 November 2024
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Heavy gunfire erupts in South Sudan’s capital Juba

  • The gunfire began around 7 p.m. local time and continued sporadically for more than an hour before dying down
  • Analysts said the sacking of Akol Koor reflected a power struggle at the highest levels of government

NAIROBI: Heavy gunfire erupted in South Sudan’s capital Juba on Thursday evening after security forces moved to arrest the former head of the intelligence service, according to Reuters reporters and an alert sent to United Nations staff.
The gunfire began around 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) and continued sporadically for more than an hour before dying down, Reuters reporters said.
A UN safety alert to staff members in Juba, seen by Reuters, said the shooting was related to the arrest of the former head of the National Security Service (NSS). It urged UN staff to shelter in place.
In early October, President Salva Kiir dismissed Akol Koor Kuc, who had led the NSS since the country’s independence from Sudan in 2011, and appointed a close ally to replace him.
Reached by telephone, a military spokesperson said he was trying to establish what was going on.
Analysts said the sacking of Akol Koor reflected a power struggle at the highest levels of government. It came weeks after the transitional government that Kiir leads announced that elections expected in December would be postponed for a second time.
Rival factions loyal to Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar fought a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
The two have governed together since then as part of a transitional government. There has been relative peace, but the opposing forces clash periodically in addition to frequent fighting among a patchwork of armed groups in rural areas.


Putin says hit Ukraine with new mid-range ballistic missile

Updated 21 November 2024
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Putin says hit Ukraine with new mid-range ballistic missile

  • Putin said in a televised address that Russia carried out “testing in combat conditions of one of the newest Russian mid-range missile systems”
  • Russia struck the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a barrage of missiles early Thursday

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the country’s forces had hit Ukraine with a new mid-range ballistic missile.
Putin said in a televised address that Russia carried out “testing in combat conditions of one of the newest Russian mid-range missile systems... Our engineers named it Oreshnik,” which means hazel tree in Russian.
Russia struck the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a barrage of missiles early Thursday.
The Ukrainian air force and President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of apparently using an intercontinental ballistic missile, while Ukrainian experts were still examining the evidence to ascertain the type of missile used.
Putin said in his address that Russia launched a combined strike on a defense industry target in Ukraine.
He described Oreshnik as a “ballistic missile” that was deployed in this case “in a non-nuclear hypersonic configuration,” saying that the “test” had been successful and had hit its target.
Air defenses cannot intercept the Oreshnik, which attacks at a speed of Mach 10, or 2.5-3 kilometers per second, Putin said.
“Modern air defense systems... cannot intercept such missiles. That’s impossible,” he said.
“As of today there are no means of counteracting such a weapon,” the president boasted.
He said Russia was testing the Oreshnik in combat conditions “in response to the aggressive actions of NATO countries toward Russia.”


UK urged to honor ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli leaders

Updated 21 November 2024
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UK urged to honor ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli leaders

  • Warrants issued on Thursday against Israel’s ministers, officials of Hamas

LONDON: The British government has been urged by the Council for Arab-British Understanding to immediately honor International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, Gallant, and an official of Hamas, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory.

CAABU director Chris Doyle emphasized the gravity of the situation, accusing the UK government of failing to hold Israel accountable for its actions in violation of international law.

Doyle said: “This decision highlights how woefully the UK government has handled the situation of Israeli atrocities and war crimes.

“It now must demonstrate, with concrete action, that this government will honor its pledge to uphold respect for international law and the ICC by abiding in full with the ICC decision.”

Doyle also called for immediate measures, including a full arms embargo on Israel, the cessation of military and security cooperation, and an end to arms sales while atrocities were allegedly being carried out in Gaza.

CAABU warned that failure to comply with the ICC’s warrants could severely damage the UK’s international standing, making it complicit in alleged crimes against humanity, including forced displacement, apartheid, and genocide.

“The UK’s reputation globally would be trashed,” Doyle cautioned.

The organization stressed that the ICC’s warrants represented a crucial step toward justice and accountability for Palestinians. However, Doyle stressed the need for swift action.

He said: “There is no time to wait; justice delayed is justice denied. The UK needs to uphold international law, accountability, and ensure justice with immediate effect by complying with these arrest warrants.”

The UK government has yet to issue a formal response to the ICC’s decision.