UNITED STATES
Trump holds first rally
Former president Donald Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas on Saturday, brushing off his potential indictment as he railed against multiple criminal probes threatening his bid for the White House. The Republican addressed several thousand supporters — far fewer than the 15,000 he had expected — in the city of Waco, as he braced for possible charges over a hush-money payout just days before the 2016 presidential election, to a porn star alleging a sexual encounter. Maintaining that the investigation was over “something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair,” Trump told supporters how he had been the victim of “one witch hunt and phony investigation after another.” The former president has made a torrent of increasingly bellicose statements, claiming “misconduct” by prosecutors he refers to as “human scum,” who are pursuing cases against him in New York, Washington and Atlanta.
TUNISIA
Nineteen migrants drown
At least 19 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died when their boat sank as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a human rights group said yesterday, the latest migrant boat disaster off Tunisia. In the past four days, five migrant boats have sunk off the southern city of Sfax, leaving 67 missing and nine dead, after a significant increase in boats heading toward Italy. The coast guard rescued five people from the boat off the coast of Mahdia after a journey that started from Sfax beaches, Forum for Social and Economic Rights spokesman Romadan ben Omar said. The coast guard said it had stopped about 80 boats heading for Italy in the past four days and detained more than 3,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries.
WEST BANK
Two wounded in drive-by
Two soldiers were wounded, one severely, in a drive-by shooting in the occupied territory on Saturday evening, the Israeli military said. The attack was the third to take place in the town of Hawara in less than a month. One soldier was seriously wounded and the second was in moderate condition, the military said. A search for the assailants was launched as forces sealed roads leading to Hawara. The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the second largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, praised it. “The resistance in the West Bank can surprise the occupation every time and the occupation cannot enjoy safety,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.
THAILAND
Man wins joint-rolling contest
With nimble fingers and years of practice, Ativat Janmuangthai beat other cannabis enthusiasts to roll a perfect, 1g joint in 43 seconds on Saturday, becoming the fastest joint-roller in Phuket. “He’s been rolling joints for five years, he can even roll joints blindfolded. He’s very fast,” said Saksorn Sotornkittirat, friend of Ativat who accompanied him at the first Phuket Cannabis Cup competition. Apart from the title and trophy, the winner, in his 30s, was also awarded a cash prize of 5,000 baht (US$147). The contest was part of an inaugural event at which enthusiasts and experts could gather and exchange opinions and knowledge with the aim of helping set a standard for the fledgling cannabis industry.
MINERAL DEPOSITS: The Pacific nation is looking for new foreign partners after its agreement with Canada’s Metals Co was terminated ‘mutually’ at the end of last year Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper — recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands. Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin (周立民) after a longstanding agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Co fell through. “The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked yesterday, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said. He is to leave his post when his successor is appointed by April 10 at the latest, the statement said. Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993. Bar, meant to
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