Donald Trump to hold outdoor Las Vegas rally in scorching heat

Donald Trump to hold outdoor Las Vegas rally in scorching heat
Former president Donald Trump’s campaign is hiring extra medics, loading up on fans and water bottles and allowing supporters to carry umbrellas to an outdoor rally Sunday in Las Vegas. (AP)
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Updated 09 June 2024
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Donald Trump to hold outdoor Las Vegas rally in scorching heat

Donald Trump to hold outdoor Las Vegas rally in scorching heat
  • Former president is returning to Nevada where temperatures are expected to exceed 37.8 degrees Celsius
  • The campaign has paid for additional EMS services to be on site in the case of emergency

LAS VEGAS: Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is hiring extra medics, loading up on fans and water bottles and allowing supporters to carry umbrellas to an outdoor rally Sunday in Las Vegas, where temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).
Trump is returning to Nevada, one of the top battleground states in the November election, for his second rally since he was found guilty in a hush-money scandal. The unprecedented conviction of a former president has juiced Trump’s fundraising and galvanized his supporters, but it remains to be seen whether it will sway swing voters.
Temperatures in the Southwest have cooled since reaching historic highs late last week but remain above normal for this time of year and are expected to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) by the time Trump is scheduled to begin speaking around noon. His rally is at a park with little shade next to the airport.
Campaign organizers say they will have ample water bottles to hand out to attendees and that cooling tents will be place throughout the venue. Misting fans will be given out.
The campaign has paid for additional EMS services to be on site in the case of emergency. The US Secret Service will be making an exception to allow people to bring in personal water bottles and and umbrellas.
During a Trump rally in Arizona on Thursday, the Phoenix Police Department said 11 people were transported to hospitals, treated and released for heat exhaustion. Many Trump’s supporters waited in line for hours and some were unable to get inside before the venue reached capacity. The temperature reached a record 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) that day.
Trump’s Nevada rally, his third in the state this year, comes on the tail end of a Western swing that included several high-dollar fundraisers where he was expected to rake in millions of dollars.
Democrat Hillary Clinton won Nevada in 2016 as did President Joe Biden in 2020, but Nevada was the only battleground state where Trump did better against Biden than Clinton. In the 2022 midterms, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, was the only incumbent governor who did not win reelection.
Trump hopes his strength among working-class voters and growing interest from Latinos will push him to victory in the state.


Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives

Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives
Updated 9 sec ago
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Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives

Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives
  • The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached

LONDON: Companies transporting their products around the world are not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route in the wake of a Gaza ceasefire deal because of uncer- tainty over whether Houthis will continue to attack shipping, industry executives said.

The EU’s naval force in the Red Sea said its “threat assessment remains unchanged.”

The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached.

Executives from shipping, insurance, and retail industries said the risks remained too high to resume voyages through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, through which exports to Western markets from the Gulf and Asia must pass before entering the Suez Canal.

“There is no way I’m putting any of my merchandise on a boat that’s going to go through the Red Sea for some time to come,” said Jay Foreman, CEO of US-based Basic Fun, which supplies toys to major US retailers like Walmart and Amazon.com. Matt Castle, vice president of global forwarding with logistics group C.H. Robinson, said: “It’s not likely the industry will see a large shift back to the Suez Canal in the short term.”

He said this was due to the challenges of securing cargo insur- ance given perceived high risks and time constraints, as imple- menting a new ocean shipping plan would take weeks or months.

 


Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
Updated 17 January 2025
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Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
  • “Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added

ACCRA: Ghana’s president and Mali’s prime minister have committed to strengthening relations in the face of rising extremist violence and instability across West Africa.
The northern part of Ghana, as well as nearby Togo and Benin, is increasingly faced with incursions by extremist groups based in the Sahel. “Our security is a common objective, and we must work with each other to ensure our subregion is safe,” Ghana’s John Mahama told the press after meeting with Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga in the capital, Accra.
“If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you must assist them to quench it; otherwise, it will spread to yours.” The Ghanaian leader also acknowledged the recent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, a defense pact formed after the three junta-led states withdrew from the regional West African bloc ECOWAS.
“Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added.
Maiga praised Ghana’s essential role in promoting pan-Africanism — a central theme of the military leaders who have taken power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of whom have turned away from former colonial ruler France.
“The fight for African sovereignty aligns with the vision of President Mahama. We thank him ... for Ghana’s unwavering support,” the general said.
The visit shows the normalization of relations between the three AES states and their neighbors after coups and their ECOWAS exit strained ties.
It also came as Togo’s foreign minister refused to rule out joining the AES, which would give the currently landlocked security and defense pact access to the Atlantic Ocean.

 


Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
Updated 17 January 2025
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Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
  • Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court
  • All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds

LONDON: Nine people appeared in a London court on Friday to deny offenses including burglary, criminal damage, violent disorder and hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer, over an incident at a warehouse linked to Israeli defense firm Elbit.
The nine, who prosecutors have said were activists from the protest organization Palestine Action, are accused of smashing their way into the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August.
At a previous hearing, prosecutors said a repurposed prison van was used to smash through fencing before some of the group damaged items in the warehouse using sledgehammers.
Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court. All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds.
Seven of them also denied a charge of violent disorder, while one, Simon Corner, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, for allegedly striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Another nine people also charged with offenses over the incident appeared at Friday’s hearing but did not enter pleas.
The first trial involving eight of the defendants is due to start in November, with the others appearing at two subsequent trials. A hearing will also be held to determine whether the cases should be treated as a terrorism matter.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly targeted Elbit Systems UK and other defense firms in Britain linked to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.
Palestine Action has said the targeted site was Elbit’s new 35 million-pound ($43 million) research and development hub. Elbit’s website says its UK subsidiary employs 680 people at 16 sites, working on multiple programs for the British military.


Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
Updated 17 January 2025
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Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
  • “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform
  • “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way”

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump may take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather.
“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.”
The Rotunda is prepared as the inclement weather alternative for each inauguration in the event of inclement weather. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest inauguration day temperatures since that day.
Alternate plans are required for the more roughly 250,000 guests ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds and the tens of thousands more expected to be in general admission areas or to line the inaugural parade route from the Capitol to the White House.
Trump said some supporters would be able to watch the ceremony from Washington’s Capital One area on Monday, a day after he plans to hold a rally there. He said he would visit the arena after his swearing-in.
The National Weather Service is predicting the temperature to be around 22 degrees (minus-6 Celsius) at noon during the swearing-in, the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration saw temperatures plunge to 7 degrees (minus-14 Celsius). Barack Obama’s 2009 swearing-in was 28 degrees (minus-2 Celsius). Adding to the bite: Wind is forecast to be 30 to 35 mph (48 to 56 kph), sending wind chills into the single digits.
Trump’s inaugural committee and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
Updated 17 January 2025
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Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
  • Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud
  • Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign

ROME: Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche will stand trial for alleged falsification of financial statements at her former publishing company, a Milan judge ruled Friday.
Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud during her time as chair and CEO of Visibilia, a media publisher and advertising agency.
She is the second Meloni minister to stand trial after Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who was cleared in December over charges relating to his detention of a migrant boat as part of a different government.
“Prosecutors claim the forecasts in the (company’s) business plan were overly optimistic,” Santanche’s lawyer Nicolo Pelanda told reporters at the court.
“It leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths but we are convinced that we can prove Santanche’s lack of involvement,” he said.
The trial will begin in March.
Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign. If she does, she would be the second Meloni minister to step down, after a sex scandal last year toppled the culture minister.
Meloni refused last month to confirm whether Santanche would remain in her post if ordered to stand trial.
Santanche is also caught up in two other investigations, including one for alleged benefit fraud.
Milan prosecutors allege Visibilia, which Santanche sold before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, pocketed government redundancy funds during the coronavirus pandemic for staff members who instead continued to work.
Italy’s highest court will decide at the end of the month whether that case should be transferred from Milan to Rome, after which there will be decision as to whether or not she should stand trial.
Prosecutors are also investigating Santanche over the bankruptcy of organics food company Ki Group-Bioera, which she used to co-manage.