International

New York case just part of Trump’s legal woes

Donald Trump on Tuesday became the first US president to be arrested on criminal charges — but the 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records are far from the only legal peril threatening the ex-leader as he seeks a return to the White House. The rebellious Republican billionaire has described the charges as being the work of “radical left Democrats” who have “criminalized the justice system” and are seeking to derail his presidential candidacy. […]

Defiant Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts inside a packed New York courtroom Tuesday, in a dramatic hearing that transfixed the nation and began the countdown to the first ever criminal trial of an American president. After a stern glare to waiting press, Trump spent about an hour inside a Manhattan courtroom where he voluntarily surrendered to face charges over hush money payments that have already upended the 2024 White House race in […]

Trump leaves Trump Tower to surrender to criminal charges

New York, United States | AFP | Tuesday 4/4/2023 – 19:11 UTC+2 | 58 words Donald Trump left his New York skyscraper amid tight security Tuesday to turn himself in for a historic court appearance on criminal charges that threaten to upend the 2024 White House race. His motorcade departed Trump Tower to drive the six-mile (10-kilometer) journey to the courthouse in Manhattan with police lining the streets and helicopters buzzing overhead. © Agence France-Presse

Police cordon off New York streets for Trump’s arraignment

(Eagle News) — Police blocked off streets around the Trump Tower in New York City as news reporters and onlookers wait for former U.S. President Donald Trump to make his way to the Manhattan Courthouse. Trump is scheduled to surrender to authorities on Tuesday afternoon, April 4, 2023, and be arraigned on criminal charges in connection to hush money payments made to an adult film start in 2016. The 76-year-old Republican has the dubious distinction […]

Tight security as Trump set for historic court appearance

Donald Trump was set Tuesday to plead not guilty to criminal charges in a New York courtroom in an unprecedented case that threatens to upend the 2024 White House race. Trump is the first sitting or former American president to be criminally indicted — a historic development that has propelled the United States into uncharted political waters. Amid tight security in Manhattan, and a global media frenzy, the 76-year-old will learn at his arraignment precisely what […]

‘Trump or Death:’ dueling protests outside court mirror US divide

by Maggy DONALDSON and Andrea BAMBINO Dozens of Donald Trump supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse where the former president is due to be arraigned on criminal charges Tuesday, as a handful of vocal counterprotestors shouted an anti-fascist message. Members of the New York Police Department community affairs division stepped in to the fray as the pro-Trump side — many sporting familiar “MAGA” hats and attire emblazoned with the American flag — yelled slurs at their […]

Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in corruption trial against Fugees member

by Charlotte PLANTIVE Leonardo DiCaprio was in Washington Monday — not to press lawmakers on his environmental causes or to film another blockbuster hit, but rather to testify in a political corruption trial featuring a 90s hip-hop star and a disgraced Malaysian financier. Pras Michel, a member of the US musical trio The Fugees, is facing charges for allegations of helping to secretly funnel money from Low Taek Jho — the Malaysian businessman at the […]

China warns Philippine-US base deal ‘endangering regional peace’

China warned on Tuesday that Washington was “endangering regional peace” in a new deal with the Philippines that will see four additional bases be used by US troops, including one near the disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan. “Out of self-interest, the US maintains a zero-sum mentality and continues to strengthen its military deployment in the region,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “The result will inevitably be increased military tension and […]

Finland in NATO: strategic shift with material gain

Paris, France | AFP | Tuesday 4/4/2023 by Daphne Benoit and Didier Lauras Finland on Tuesday becoming the 31st member of NATO is a strategic step that doubles the military alliance’s border with Russia and provides the coalition with additional military capacity. Here are the key facts: – Russia ‘more vulnerable’ – Finland broke with decades of non-alignment to ask to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbour Ukraine in […]

Finland joins NATO, drawing warning from Moscow

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Tuesday 4/4/2023  by Max DELANY Finland became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday, in a historic realignment of Europe’s defences that drew an angry warning of “countermeasures” from the Kremlin. Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year upended Europe’s security landscape and prompted Finland — and its neighbour Sweden — to drop decades of military non-alignment. Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto formally wrapped up the process by handing Helsinki’s […]

Papua New Guinea quake toll rises to seven

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Papua New Guinea rose to seven on Tuesday, as emergency crews made contact with remote communities hit by the disaster. The 7.0 magnitude temblor hit a jungle-clad area near the Sepik River in the early hours of Monday. The Provincial Disaster Office said a total of seven people were now believed to have died — up from three on Monday — and at least 17 have been […]

6.1-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia’s Sumatra island: USGS

Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra island in western Indonesia on Monday, shaking homes of panicked residents but causing no casualties or damage. The quake’s epicentre was at sea southwest of Padangsidempuan city in northern Sumatra at a depth of 84 kilometres (52 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported. It occurred around 9:59 pm (1459 GMT). The country’s meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no tsunami warning after […]