Donald Trump vows to end wars, restore US power if elected again

Donald Trump vows to end wars, restore US power if elected again
Republican presidential candidate and former president, Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (AP)
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Updated 19 July 2024
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Donald Trump vows to end wars, restore US power if elected again

Donald Trump vows to end wars, restore US power if elected again
  • The former president sought to paint a dire picture of the world under his successor Joe Biden

MILWAUKEE: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised Thursday to bring an end to raging international crises and restore American prestige on the world stage, saying he could “stop wars with a telephone call.”
The former president sought to paint a dire picture of the world under his successor Joe Biden, telling the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that the planet is “teetering on the edge of World War III.”
“We will restore peace, stability and harmony all throughout the world,” Trump said, without giving any detail on how he might do that.
“Under our leadership the United States will be respected again. No nation will question our power, no enemy will doubt our might, our borders will be totally secure.”

 


Trump placed the blame for conflicts around the world squarely on Biden — even those with roots stretching back far before the Democrat took office.
“There is an international crisis the likes of which the world has seldom been part of... war is now raging in Europe, in the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and all of Asia,” he said.
He vowed to change all that if he is elected to a second term in the White House.
“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said. But “to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed and even incompetent leadership.”
He also said he wanted Americans held abroad to be released — or else.
“The entire world, I tell you this: we want our hostages back and they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price,” said Trump — again failing to give any specifics.
He pledged to build a version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system for the United States, ignoring the fact that the system is designed for short-range threats and would be ill-suited to defending against intercontinental missiles that are the main danger to the country.
And he suggested that Kim Jong Un — the reclusive North Korean dictator whom he met in person during his presidency, and whose country possesses a nuclear arsenal — longed to see him back in the White House.
“I get along with him, he’d like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know,” Trump said.

 


Ukraine names new foreign minister, two deputy PMs in cabinet overhaul

Ukraine names new foreign minister, two deputy PMs in cabinet overhaul
Updated 11 sec ago
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Ukraine names new foreign minister, two deputy PMs in cabinet overhaul

Ukraine names new foreign minister, two deputy PMs in cabinet overhaul
Andrii Sybiha, 49, an experienced diplomat who does not have a prominent public profile, takes the reins of the foreign ministry, replacing Dmytro Kuleba
The new foreign ministry leadership is not expected to affect policy significantly

KYIV: Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Thursday to appoint a new foreign minister and two new deputy prime ministers, as President Volodymyr Zelensky carries out his biggest government shakeup since Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion.
Andrii Sybiha, 49, an experienced diplomat who does not have a prominent public profile, takes the reins of the foreign ministry, replacing Dmytro Kuleba, who has been one of the best known public faces of Ukraine in the West in recent years.
The new foreign ministry leadership is not expected to affect policy significantly; Zelensky and his office have taken the leading role in foreign affairs during the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian leader, who travels to the United States this month and hopes to present a “victory plan” to President Joe Biden, has said that Ukraine needs “new energy” and that this autumn will be important for Ukraine in the war.
Dmytro Razumkov, an opposition lawmaker, predicted the new appointments would change little, saying most decisions were made in Zelensky’s office, which was conferred considerable new emergency powers under wartime martial law.
Parliament re-appointed 38-year-old Olha Stefanyshyna as deputy prime minister in charge of European integration, while also handing her a bigger portfolio that includes overseeing the justice ministry.
Stefanyshyna said in her speech to lawmakers ahead of her appointment that “hundreds and thousands” of legal changes were required as Ukraine seeks to become a member of the European Union.
Lawmakers also signed off on the appointment of Oleksiy Kuleba, a former deputy head of Zelensky’s office, as a deputy prime minister in charge of reconstruction, regions and infrastructure.
Parliament is expected to appoint other new ministers on Thursday as part of the government reset.

KYIV AIMS TO RECAPTURE WAR INITIATIVE
Russian forces are inching forward in the east and have stepped up their campaign of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities far from the frontline, hitting the power sector and other infrastructure in almost daily attacks.
Zelensky has said his team is preparing several important meetings with foreign partners in September to try to ensure Kyiv’s recaptures the initiative in the war.
In his latest evening address to the nation, he said the current priorities were securing supplies of air defenses from the West, improving the situation on the battlefield and getting foreign help to rebuild his country.
He is expected to take part on Friday in a meeting of the Ramstein group of nations which supplies arms to Ukraine, Germany’s Der Spiegel media outlet reported.
Zelensky has repeatedly called on allies to lift restrictions that ban Kyiv from using Western weapons for long-range strikes into Russia.

EU warns Serbia against Russia ties after Putin meeting

EU warns Serbia against Russia ties after Putin meeting
Updated 5 min 16 sec ago
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EU warns Serbia against Russia ties after Putin meeting

EU warns Serbia against Russia ties after Putin meeting
  • Serbia was granted EU candidate status in 2012 and has been in the waiting room for membership since
  • As part of the accession process, countries commit to align their foreign policy with that of the EU, Stano said

BRUSSELS: The EU on Thursday warned Serbia that keeping strong ties with Moscow was “not compatible” with its aspiration to join the bloc, after a top government official met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin described his country as an “ally of Russia” on Wednesday, as he met Putin on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
“Maintaining or even increasing the ties with Russia during the time of its illegal aggression against the Ukrainian people, is not compatible with EU values and is not compatible with the EU accession process,” EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said.
Serbia was granted EU candidate status in 2012 and has been in the waiting room for membership since.
As part of the accession process, countries commit to align their foreign policy with that of the EU, Stano said.
“So, we expect Serbia to refrain from intensifying links and contacts with Russia,” he told a press conference in Brussels.
The Balkan country has historically close ties with Moscow and is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas.
It condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations but has refused to sanction the Kremlin.
Serbia “will never become a NATO member, will never impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, and will never allow any anti-Russian actions to be carried out from its territory,” Vulin said in comments carried by Russian television.


Pope Francis calls for climate action during visit to Southeast Asia’s largest mosque

Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering.
Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering.
Updated 05 September 2024
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Pope Francis calls for climate action during visit to Southeast Asia’s largest mosque

Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering.
  • Francis is the first pontiff to visit Indonesia in 35 years, after Pope John Paul II in 1989
  • Papal visit concludes on Thursday with Mass for about 70,000 people in Jakarta

JAKARTA: Pope Francis and Indonesia’s religious leaders called for joint international action to address climate change and global conflicts on Thursday, as the pontiff visited the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. 

Francis, who is in Indonesia on the first part of his four-nation tour of Asia, was at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta with representatives of Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism. 

The pope and the mosque’s Grand Imam, Nasaruddin Umar, signed “The Istiqlal Declaration,” a joint call highlighting “two serious crises” in the world: dehumanization and climate change.

“Religious values should be directed toward promoting a culture of respect, dignity, compassion, reconciliation and fraternal solidarity in order to overcome both dehumanization and environmental destruction,” the declaration read. 

Indonesia’s other religious representatives were present at the ceremony, but did not co-sign the document, though they are listed as having “accompanied” it by organizers. 

The declaration ended with a call for “decisive action” to protect the environment and its resources, adding that human exploitation was to blame for the climate crisis. 

“By adhering to (the declaration),we take on the responsibility to address the serious and sometimes dramatic crises that threaten the future of humanity such as wars and conflicts … and the environmental crisis, which is an obstacle to the growth and coexistence of peoples,” Francis said. 

The pope’s visit to Istiqlal was rich with symbolic meaning. Shortly after arriving, he and Umar stood at the ground-level entrance of the “Tunnel of Friendship,” an underground tunnel that connects the mosque compound with the neighboring Catholic cathedral.

Umar said that the mosque, which was designed by Christian architect Friedrich Silaban, was “not just a house of worship for Muslims, but also a great house for humanity.” 

Indonesia is home to the world’s biggest population of Muslims, with around 87 percent of its 270 million people professing Islam, while its Catholic community comprises about 3 percent. 

“Istiqlal Mosque has always called for tolerance and religious moderation,” said Bukhori Sail Attahiry, the mosque’s head of worship. 

“This is not merely about the visit of Pope Francis, as the visit also carries a lot of deeper meaning on how we build our religious life here in Indonesia. My hope is that this gathering will be able to inspire Indonesians and people across the globe that a harmonious coexistence must be nurtured and fought for, so that we can respect and understand each other.”

Francis’ visit to Indonesia concludes later on Thursday with a Mass in Jakarta’s main stadium that is expected to draw about 70,000 people. 

Anastasya, a 25-year-old Indonesian Catholic, was among those who waited to catch a glimpse of the pope in front of Istiqlal early on Thursday, as she did not have a ticket to attend the stadium celebration. 

“I’m very excited because the pope’s visit may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for us here in Indonesia,” she told Arab News. 

Francis is the first pope to visit Indonesia in 35 years. The last pontiff to visit the country was Pope John Paul II in 1989, after Pope Paul VI in 1970. 

On Friday, Francis heads to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his Asia trip, which will also cover East Timor and Singapore. 


Britain halts criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein

Britain halts criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein
Updated 29 min 21 sec ago
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Britain halts criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein

Britain halts criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein
  • “We have explained our decision to all parties,’’ the CPS said in a statement
  • “We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police, and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met”

LONDON: Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein won’t face charges of indecent assault in Britain, prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which in 2022 authorized two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein, said it decided to discontinue proceedings because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.’’
“We have explained our decision to all parties,” the CPS said in a statement. “We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police, and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met.”
Weinstein became the most prominent villain of the #MeToo movement in 2017 when women began to go public with accounts of his behavior. After the revelations emerged, British police said they were investigating multiple allegations of sexual assault that reportedly took place between the 1980s and 2015.
In June 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized London’s Metropolitan Police Service to file two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein in relation to an alleged incident that occurred in London in 1996. The victim was in her 50s at the time of the announcement.
Unlike many other countries, Britain does not have a statute of limitations for rape or sexual assault.
Weinstein, who has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, remains in custody in New York while awaiting retrial in Manhattan, prosecutors said in August.
After the retrial, he is due to start serving a 16-year sentence in California for a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles, authorities said. Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while already serving a 23-year sentence in New York.
His 2020 conviction in Manhattan was thrown out earlier this year when the state’s top court ruled that the judge in the original trial unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Weinstein, the co-founder of the Miramax entertainment company and The Weinstein Company film studio, was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, having produced films such as “Pulp Fiction” and “The Crying Game.”


India holds first International Solar Festival to promote global use of sun energy

India holds first International Solar Festival to promote global use of sun energy
Updated 05 September 2024
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India holds first International Solar Festival to promote global use of sun energy

India holds first International Solar Festival to promote global use of sun energy
  • India positions itself as a leader in the Global South in developing the solar energy industry
  • Its installed solar energy capacity has jumped from 20MW to 70GW over the past decade

New Delhi: The International Solar Alliance, an Indian-led initiative grouping countries with the most sunshine hours per day, opened its first festival in New Delhi on Thursday to drive forward solar advocacy and influence global energy transition.

Launched by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and France’s then-President Francois Hollande during the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP21, in Paris, the ISA comprises over 100 signatory countries.

Most of the members are “sunshine countries,” or those with the most sunlight hours per day. The main objective of the alliance is to advocate for the efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The ISA’s first International Solar Festival, being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday, was kicked off by Modi, who vowed India’s support for “every effort to build an inclusive, clean and green planet.”

Modi was addressing the festival’s participants in a video message from Singapore, where he is on a state visit.

“We were the first G20 nation to achieve the Paris commitments in renewable energy,” he said. “The remarkable growth of solar energy is a key reason in making this possible. Our solar energy capacity has increased 32-fold in the last 10 years.”

India’s installed solar energy capacity stands at about 70 gigawatts, with the potential estimated at 748 GW, according to the National Institute of Solar Energy.

“To ensure an energy transition, the world must collectively discuss some important matters. The imbalance in the concentration of green energy investments needs to be addressed. Manufacturing and technology need to be democratized to help developing countries,” Modi said.

“Empowering least developed countries and small island developing states should be a top priority.”

India has positioned itself as a leader in the Global South in developing the solar energy industry.

“India has been a leader in developing countries in putting in place policies, (and) tweaking them periodically as we have moved ahead. And in the process, we have built up our solar capacity from 20 megawatts to something of the order of 70 GW,” Dr. Ajay Mathur, director-general of the ISA, told Arab News.

“Clearly, our policy in the developing country context — where the energy demand is increasing, where the resources are limited — is of value to other developing countries who are in the same space.”

Some of the festival’s main highlights are how the transition to solar energy can create opportunities for youth, enable inclusivity, and empower women.

“This festival is reaching out to women, is reaching out to youth, is reaching out to communities, is reaching out to the private sector,” said Mathur.

“We want them to talk to each other, we want them to tell the best practices to each other, we want to learn from their experience.”

Chetan Singh Solanki, professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, who has since 2020 traveled across the country on a solar-powered bus to promote energy literacy, told Arab News it was high time that humankind switched toward solar-powered life.

“Solar energy is an integral part of our life and due to the advancement, the progress that we have moved away from the center of our existence, the sun, and we have based our life on coal, oil and gas,” he said, adding that action needs to be taken in the face of climate change-driven disasters such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and ice melting.

“It is very high time that we come back to the center of our existence, that is the sun, the solar energy. It is high time that we run our lives, our affairs, and cook food and travel on solar energy.”