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Hunter Biden jury sees evidence of addiction, hears ‘no one is above the law’

Hunter Biden jury sees evidence of addiction, hears ‘no one is above the law’
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, gets into a vehicle, as he departs the federal court, on the second day of his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, US, June 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 05 June 2024
Reuters
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Hunter Biden jury sees evidence of addiction, hears ‘no one is above the law’

Hunter Biden jury sees evidence of addiction, hears ‘no one is above the law’
Updated 05 June 2024
Reuters
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WILMINGTON: Prosecutors in the historic criminal trial of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden told jurors on Tuesday that overwhelming evidence shows that the younger Biden lied to hide his drug addiction so he could illegally buy a gun, while the defense said he had no intent to deceive.

Jurors in federal court in Delaware heard opening statements by prosecution and defense lawyers in the first trial of a child of a sitting US president before witness testimony began.

The prosecution showed jurors text messages in which Hunter Biden arranged drug deals and discussed smoking crack cocaine, including within days of his October 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver. They also played excerpts from the audiobook version of his autobiography in which he described his “bloodhound” instinct for finding crack around the time of his gun purchase.

Prosecutor Derek Hines said during his opening statement that “the evidence is overwhelming” and written in the defendant’s own words.

“Addiction is not a crime. Lying is,” Hines said.

Hunter Biden, 54, has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges accusing him of failing to disclose his use of illegal drugs when he bought the gun and of illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days.

The trial, presided over by US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, began in the aftermath of Donald Trump last week becoming the first former US president to be convicted of a crime. Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 US election. Neither the prosecution nor the defense directly addressed that issue.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell told jurors in his opening statement that no one disputes that Hunter Biden was a drug addict before and after the gun purchase. But Lowell told jurors that the gun purchase form asked Hunter Biden only if he was currently an addict, not whether he had used in the past, adding that his client had no “intent to deceive.”

The trial in the Bidens’ hometown of Wilmington is playing out as Trump and his congressional allies continue to accuse the Justice Department of a politicized prosecution of the former president.

US Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee, brought the case against Hunter Biden and was present in the courtroom on Tuesday. Weiss has separately filed federal tax charges against Hunter Biden in California.

The trial is offering a tour of Hunter Biden’s years-long struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. Hunter Biden told Noreika at a hearing last year that he has been sober since the middle of 2019.

If convicted on all charges, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though defendants generally receive shorter sentences, according to the US Justice Department.

‘FINDING CRACK ANYTIME’

FBI agent Erika Jensen was called as the first prosecution witness to testify about Hunter Biden’s texts, bank records and writings about his drug use.

That included a text the day after Hunter Biden bought the gun in which he said he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie” and another the next day in which he said he had been sleeping on top of a car and smoking crack.

Hines asked Jensen about Hunter Biden’s 2021 autobiography, “Beautiful Things,” in which he documented his addiction. Hines played about 30 minutes of Biden’s monotone voice narrating the audiobook, including passages in which he detailed his constant hunt for drugs and what he called his “superpower — finding crack anytime, anywhere.”

Jensen also described Hunter Biden’s bank records that showed that he made almost daily cash withdrawals, totaling $151,000, from September to November 2018, covering the period of the gun purchase.

Lowell said Hunter Biden did not have a credit card at the time and was spending thousands of dollars on drug recovery.

Tuesday’s proceedings ended soon after Lowell began the cross examination of Jensen, which is set to continue on Wednesday.

Hines said prosecutors will call as a witness Hunter Biden’s former wife, Kathleen Buhle, who accused him in their 2017 divorce proceedings of squandering money on drugs, alcohol and prostitutes. Hallie Biden, widow of Beau Biden, Hunter’s brother who died of cancer in 2015, is also expected to testify.

Trump is due to be sentenced on July 11 after being convicted by a jury in state court in New York last Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up hush money paid to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal shortly before the 2016 US election.

He has pleaded not guilty in three other pending criminal cases, two related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden and one accusing him of unlawfully keeping classified national security documents after leaving office in 2021.

Topics: Hunter Biden

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Pro-Palestine protester found not guilty of racial abuse over coconut poster

Pro-Palestine protester found not guilty of racial abuse over coconut poster
Updated 27 sec ago
Arab News
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Pro-Palestine protester found not guilty of racial abuse over coconut poster

Pro-Palestine protester found not guilty of racial abuse over coconut poster
  • Hussain defended the placard as a form of “light-hearted political banter"
Updated 27 sec ago
Arab News

LONDON: A British teacher who carried a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts during a pro-Palestine demonstration in London was acquitted on Friday of a racially aggravated public order offense.

Marieha Hussain, 37, attended the protest in November, where her placard showed the faces of the then prime minister and home secretary superimposed onto coconuts beneath a palm tree.

Hussain, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, denied the prosecution’s claim that the placard was “racially abusive,” insisting it was meant to be satirical and humorous. On Friday, Westminster Magistrates’ Court cleared her of the charges, The Guardian newspaper reported.

Speaking outside the court, Hussain expressed frustration over the ordeal: “The damage done to my reputation and image can never be undone.” She criticized what she described as the misuse of hate speech laws, claiming they were being “weaponized to target ethnic minorities.”

Reflecting on the personal impact of the trial, she added: “This ordeal has been agonizing for my family and I. Instead of enjoying my pregnancy, I’ve been vilified by the media, lost my career, and been dragged through the court system.”

Despite the challenging experience, Hussain voiced her continued commitment to activism, particularly in support of Palestine.

“Nearly a year on from the genocide in Gaza, and despite this trial, I’m more determined than ever to continue using my voice to defend Palestine,” she said.

During the trial, Hussain defended the placard as a form of “light-hearted political banter,” explaining it was a satirical way of addressing serious issues.

Her defense lawyer, Rajiv Menon, argued that the case was a troubling attack on freedom of expression.

Menon said: “This prosecution of Ms Hussain is a disturbing attack on the right to peaceful protest, the right to criticize politicians, and the right to satirise in a British context.”

He highlighted the contrast between Hussain’s prosecution and the perceived leniency shown to figures such as Suella Braverman, Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson, who have made controversial statements without facing similar consequences.

Expert testimony was heard in court regarding the use of the term “coconut” and whether it constitutes a racial slur.

Menon contended that the placard was a satirical critique of the policies and rhetoric employed by Sunak and Braverman, particularly in relation to race and immigration.

The district judge, Vanessa Lloyd, ultimately found that the placard fell within the realm of political satire.

“I find that it was part of the genre of political satire, and, as such, the prosecution has not proved to the criminal standard that it was abusive,” she said.
 

Topics: pro-Palestine protests

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‘Things might improve’: Young Kashmiris set for first local elections in decade

‘Things might improve’: Young Kashmiris set for first local elections in decade
Updated 14 September 2024
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‘Things might improve’: Young Kashmiris set for first local elections in decade

‘Things might improve’: Young Kashmiris set for first local elections in decade
  • Kashmir has been without a local government since 2018
  • Unemployment is about 18 percent, nearly double India’s average
Updated 14 September 2024
Sanjay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Nasir Khuehami and his family have never participated in a mainstream election in Jammu and Kashmir, but he is currently campaigning to mobilize others to take part in next week’s vote — the first in a decade and taking place in a new political setting after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the region of its autonomy in 2019.

Polling will be held in stages between Sept.18 and Oct. 1 to elect a local assembly — a truncated government with a chief minister, who will serve as the region’s top official, and a council of ministers — instead of remaining under the direct rule of New Delhi.

The result will be announced on Oct. 8.

“I don’t care which regional party wins, what matters is that the people of Kashmir should have someone who is their own,” Khuehami told Arab News.

The 26-year-old national convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association is visiting different districts of the valley to mobilize students ahead of the vote.

“For the last 10 years there have been no elections in Jammu and Kashmir. In the last five years, after the abrogation of special status, even democracy was suspended, and it is bureaucrats who run the region. There has been no accountability,” he said.

“When we compare these bureaucrats with our own elected leaders, we find that our representatives are accountable, they listen to us, and they understand us ... This accessibility we miss now.”

Kashmir has been without a local government since 2018 when Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party brought down a coalition government, forcing the assembly to dissolve. A year later, Modi’s government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted the region its semi-autonomy, and downgraded it to a federally controlled territory.

Indian officials have repeatedly said that the move was aimed at tackling separatism and bringing economic development to the region, but Khuehami said people on the ground have yet to witness it.

“All the development agenda has fallen flat,” he said. “How many development activities took place, how many universities were created, how many exams were canceled? This is the reality.” He added that he was hopeful that, after the election, “things might improve.”

Ummar Jamal, a 23-year-old law student from the University of Kashmir was also looking forward to the vote, even though the powers of its elected administration will be limited, as the region is now a union territory.

“There was a sense of despondency after the abrogation of Article 370. I believe people are celebrating the election process (now). They are enjoying the celebration of democracy. I hope that after elections our representatives will be better placed to address our issues,” he said.

“Unemployment is very high. Why are the youth coming out in large numbers to campaign and vote? Somehow, they feel the public representatives may get these unemployment issues addressed.”

Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir is part of the larger Kashmiri territory, which has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Both countries claim Kashmir in full and rule in part. Indian-controlled Kashmir has, for decades, witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgencies to resist control from the government in New Delhi.

The two main regional parties — the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party — are going to challenge Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress, India’s main opposition party, is in alliance with the NC.

“There is a strong sense of anti-BJP sentiment because people feel that the BJP is trying to alter the regional identity. Youngsters are supporting the regional parties like NC and PDP which are speaking the language of the people and expressing their aspirations,” said Tariq Mir, 33, a PR manager and writer based in Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city.

“The main issue is the question of the Kashmiri identity ... People want a peaceful life with dignity.”

But they also seek new prospects, as unemployment in the region stands at around 18 percent — nearly double India’s average.

Aqib Manzoor, a law student at Central University of Kashmir, said that while many hope for the restoration of the region’s statehood, the creation of jobs in the private sector, tackling corruption, and giving them more freedom of expression are also key issues.

“Though hopes remain very high, time will tell whether these issues and concerns of youngsters will be addressed, or just remain unaddressed like in the past, when the state assembly had enough powers to bring real changes on the ground,” he said.

“The center and all parties should prepare to seize the new opportunity for the future of a prosperous state that addresses the concerns and aspirations of (those who are) the future of the nation.”

Topics: India Kashmir Indian PM Narendra Modi

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Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal

Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal
Updated 14 September 2024
AFP
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Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal

Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal
  • Russian troops freed in Saturday’s swap were captured during Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region
  • Announcement comes just three weeks after Russia and Ukraine swapped 115 prisoners of war each
Updated 14 September 2024
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Moscow: Russia said Saturday it swapped 103 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian POWs in an exchange deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
The Russian troops freed in Saturday’s swap were captured during Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, which began on 6 August, according to the Russian defense ministry.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Ukrainian side.
“As a result of the negotiation process, 103 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the Russian defense ministry said.
“In return, 103 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over.”
“At present, all Russian servicemen are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance, as well as an opportunity to contact their relatives,” the ministry added.
Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed to swap hundreds of prisoners throughout the two-and-half-year conflict, often in deals brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Turkiye.
The announcement comes just three weeks after Russia and Ukraine swapped 115 prisoners of war each in an exchange deal also mediated by the UAE.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Russia Ukraine

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
Updated 14 September 2024
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Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad

Banned by Taliban, Afghan women’s voices increasingly dismissed abroad
  • Afghanistan’s new ‘vice and virtue’ law bars women from raising their voice in public
  • International debates on Afghan women’s rights rarely include those living in Afghanistan
Updated 14 September 2024
MODASER ISLAMI

KABUL: With a new Taliban law banning women from raising their voice in public, female activists in Afghanistan claim they are also being silenced in the West, where their representation is increasingly dismissed.
Regulations issued last month by the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice introduced stricter dress codes for all Afghans, but the restrictions stipulated that women not only cover themselves completely, including the face, but also conceal their voices in public.
“The government has practically ignored the voice of women and is seeking to eliminate as much of the role of women in society as possible,” Haida Akbari, a women rights activist in Kabul, told Arab News.
“The ban on women’s voices is one of the steps toward the elimination of women’s social role — neither the first nor the last.”
The rights of Afghan women have been curtailed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, when US-led forces withdrew after two decades of war following the invasion of the country.
Women and girls have been gradually barred from attending secondary school and university, undertaking most forms of paid employment, and attending public spaces such as public parks or gyms.
Each of the restrictions has spurred condemnation and sparked debate in the West. But while these are aimed at defending the rights of women, they rarely include the voices of those facing the reality of life inside Afghanistan.
In recent discussions on the impact of the new “vice and virtue” law, a Canadian broadcaster sought a comment from a former Afghan minister, a former member of parliament, and a former government official — all living in exile.
Another international media outlet focused its coverage on comments by a male activist, and while it also invited three Afghan women to comment, not one was living in Afghanistan.
For Akbari and other female activists, such practices further erode their representation and struggle for empowerment.
“There is no doubt that a woman living inside Afghanistan who wants to continue her life inside the country is very different from someone who is outside the country,” Akbari said.
“Women inside the country want the problem to be solved, but that does not mean welcoming another war in the country ... These issues are not covered in the media.”
Adina Ranjber, director of a women-led organization OTUF, which provides skill development and employment opportunities for women in Afghanistan, said it was important that international forums offer a voice to Afghan women, especially when they were being silenced at home.
“Women’s views and demands in the country are often ignored and suppressed. It seems that there is still a long way to go for Afghan women’s views to be heard and considered. There’s a need for continued support from the international community and the media,” she told Arab News.
“Representation of women from Afghanistan in human rights discussions demonstrates respect for human rights and gender equality. This can help create a more just and equal society for both women and men.”
Ranjber said that it is not only the West that is contributing to the voices of Afghan women being sidelined on international platforms.
“One of the most important factors in the neglect of women in Afghanistan is the silence of Islamic countries and the world Muslim scholars’ unions about the issues of women in Afghanistan,” she said.
“This also gives the Western media an excuse to ignore Afghan women and add to the problem instead of solving anything.”

Topics: Afghanistan Taliban

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India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
Updated 14 September 2024
AFP
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India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths

India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
  • Indian-administered Kashmir has been without elected government since losing its special status in 2019
  • Modi claims the change has ushered in a new era of peace and economic progress to the dispute region
Updated 14 September 2024
AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Narendra Modi said “terrorism is on its last legs” in Kashmir while campaigning in the disputed territory on Saturday, a day after two soldiers were killed in a gunfight with suspected militants.
Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between rebels and security forces ahead of the region’s first local assembly polls in a decade, which begin next week.
The Himalayan region in India has been without an elected local government since 2019, when Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government canceled the region’s semi-autonomy.
“The changes in the region in the last decade are nothing short of a dream,” Modi told thousands of supporters at the rally in Doda, part of Kashmir’s Hindu-majority southern region of Jammu.
“The stones that were picked up earlier to attack the police and the army are now being used to construct a new Jammu and Kashmir. This is a new era of progress, terrorism is on its last leg here,” he said.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim that the government’s changes to the territory’s governance have brought a new era of peace to Kashmir and rapid economic growth.
The implementation of those changes in 2019 was accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long Internet and communications blackout to forestall protests.
Many Kashmiris are resentful of chafing restrictions on civil liberties that followed, and the BJP is only fielding candidates in a minority of seats concentrated in Hindu-majority areas.
Modi pledged at Saturday’s rally that his party would “build a secure and prosperous” Kashmir “that is free of terrorism and a haven for tourists.”
But this year’s local polls, which begin on Wednesday before results are announced next month, follow a spike in gunfights between security forces and rebels.
In the past two years, more than 50 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels, mostly in the Jammu region.
The Indian army on Friday said that another two soldiers had died Friday during a firefight in the Kishtwar region, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is claimed in full by both countries.
Rebels have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels since 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the region’s militants and cross-border attacks inside its territory, claims Islamabad denies.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought several conflicts for control of the region since 1947.

Topics: India Election Indian PM Narendra Modi

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