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US: Campaigning in key swing states; Trump faces new lawsuit

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Kamala Harris toured Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin with Republican, Trump-critic Liz Cheney in tow. Donald Trump was in hurricane-hit North Carolina, as news emerged in New York of a fresh defamation lawsuit.

 

Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both campaigned in battleground states on Monday, with barely two weeks remaining until elections in the US.

Harris toured a trio of crucial swing states with Liz Cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, two of the highest-profile Republicans to publicly endorse her, seeking support from moderate Republican-leaning voters.

Trump was able to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in his 2016 election victory against Hillary Clinton, but he lost all three states to Joe Biden in 2020.

Holding them again on November 5 would all but seal victory for Democratic candidate Harris.

What did Harris and Cheney say?

During one of her three “town hall” events with Cheney, moderated by a conservative radio host, in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Harris returned to her recent attack line of questioning Trump’s mental stability and suitability for office.

“In many, many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of him being president of the United States are brutally serious,” Harris told the audience.

Harris and Cheney held a trio of ‘town halls’ in battleground states in the Midwest known as the ‘blue wall’
© Jacquelyn Martin/AP/picture alliance

 

She also said that Trump “has been manipulated and is so clearly able to be manipulated by favor and flattery, including by dictators and autocrats.”

Harris said if Trump were to win next month, Ukraine would likely fall to Russia. Foreign policy is one area where Cheney often criticizes Trump.

Cheney, meanwhile, said during the event in Royal Oak, Michigan that she had spoken to several Republicans with concerns about Trump who had also said “I can’t be public” in those opinions. But she voiced confidence that “they’ll do the right thing.”

“And I would just remind people, if you’re at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody,” Cheney said.

Trump dismisses ‘war hawk’ Cheney, criticizes hurricane response again

Trump downplayed Cheney’s appearances in comments online on Monday, calling her a “war hawk.”

He accused Cheney, best known for her father’s role in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq during the George W. Bush administration, of wanting to go to war with “every Muslim country known to mankind” like her father, who he described as “the man that ridiculously pushed Bush to go to war in the Middle East.”

Trump made three stops in North Carolina — usually a fairly safe state for Republicans, but an increasingly competitive one which Barack Obama was able to claim in his 2008 landslide — as it continues to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Trump returned to North Carolina on Monday, one of the states hit hard by Hurricane Helene and one that is no longer as safe for Republican candidates as once it was
© Evan Vucci/AP/dpa/picture alliance

 

He again criticized the federal government’s response to the storms, even after his earlier criticisms prompted rebukes from North Carolina Republicans like Chuck Edwards, who was sharing the stage with Trump as he made the renewed claims on Monday.

Asked if his criticisms were helpful, after Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees complained of harassment by local militias impeding their work, Trump said he believed “you have to let people know how they’re doing.”

“If they were doing a great job, I think we should say that, too, because I think they should be rewarded,” he said. “If they’re doing a poor job, we’re supposed to not say it?”

Trump’s children Eric and Tiffany were among those in the audience in Concord, North Carolina, on Monday
© Win McNamee/AFP/Getty Images

 

‘Central Park Five’ announce defamation lawsuit over Trump debate comments

Meanwhile, in Trump’s New York base, the five Black and Hispanic teenagers wrongfully convicted of a 1989 rape and murder of a jogger in Central Park said they were suing Trump over statements he made at last month’s presidential debate.

Known broadly as the “Central Park Five,” the men spent between five and 13 years in prison before they were cleared in 2002 based on new DNA evidence and the confession of another person.

Trump falsely said during the debate that the men had killed a person and pleaded guilty.

The young men confessed early in the investigation. They soon said they had done so under duress and pleaded not guilty at trial, though they were convicted.

A spokesman for the Trump campaign dismissed the defamation lawsuit as “just another frivolous, election interference lawsuit, filed by desperate left-wing activists.”

One of the plaintiff’s lawyers denied a political motivation and said the men were seeking compensation for renewed damage to their reputations and for Trump intentionally inflicting emotional distress.

Trump had been vocal on the killing at the time, taking out a full-page newspaper advert calling for the death penalty’s reintroduction in New York.

In 2019, when challenged on the issue, he refused to apologize or revise comments made about the group prior to their exoneration.

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US says it will not limit arms transfers to Israel after some aid improvements to Gaza

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Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital where displaced people live in tents, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Nov. 9, 2024 © Abdel Kareem Hana/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
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The Biden administration said on Tuesday that Israel made good but limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and that it therefore would not limit arms transfers to Israel as it threatened to do a month ago.

However, relief groups say conditions are worse than at any point in the 13-month-old war.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday the progress to date must be supplemented and sustained but that “we at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law.”

This law requires recipients of military assistance to adhere to international humanitarian law and not impede the provision of such aid.

“We are not giving Israel a pass,” Patel said, adding that “we want to see the totality of the humanitarian situation improve, and we think some of these steps will allow the conditions for that to continue progress.”

The decision from the U.S. — Israel’s key ally and largest provider of arms and other military aid — comes despite international aid organizations declaring that Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands to allow greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. Hunger experts have warned that the north may already be experiencing famine.

The Biden administration last month set a deadline expiring Tuesday for Israel to “surge” more food and other emergency aid into the Palestinian territory or risk the possibility of scaled-back military support as Israel wages offensives against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

 The obstacles facing aid distribution were on this display this week. Even after the Israeli military gave permission for a delivery to the northernmost part of Gaza — virtually cut off from food for more than a month by an Israeli siege — the United Nations said it couldn’t deliver most of it because of turmoil and restrictions from Israeli troops on the ground.

In the south, hundreds of truckloads of aid are sitting on the Gaza side of the border because the U.N. says it cannot reach them to distribute the aid — again because of the threat of lawlessness, theft and Israeli military restrictions.

Israel has announced a series of steps — though their effect was unclear. On Tuesday, it opened a new crossing in central Gaza, outside the city of Deir al-Balah, for aid to enter.

It also announced a small expansion of its coastal “humanitarian zone,” where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in tent camps. It connected electricity for a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah.

Eight international aid organizations, meanwhile, said in a report Tuesday that “Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria” but also took actions “that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza. … That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago.”

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Constituents push for Senator’s recall over alleged involvement in banditry

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Senator Shehu Umar Buba represents Bauchi South Senatorial District under the All Progressives Congress (APC). [Facebook] ©(c) provided by Pulse Nigeria © Pulse Nigeria
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The Senator’s recent appointment as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence has attracted fierce criticism.

Senator Shehu Buba, representing Bauchi State’s South Senatorial District, is facing intense scrutiny and backlash following allegations linking him to terror suspects in Northern Nigeria.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is investigating his potential involvement with wanted terrorists, while his constituents are mobilising for a historic recall.

Buba, once a respected figure in Bauchi politics, is under fire after being connected to Abubakar Idris, a known terrorist arrested in August 2024.

Idris’s arrest reportedly implicated Buba, sparking outrage among his constituents, who are demanding accountability and the senator’s removal.

READ ALSO: US told to issue visa ban to Nigerian Senator linked to terror suspect

A formal recall process has been initiated, with registered voters in his district pushing for a referendum to remove him from office.

“This is a matter of national security. We cannot have someone with such affiliations in office,” one constituent declared, according to reports.

The recall movement is gaining momentum as more people sign a petition to trigger the process. If successful, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be required to conduct a referendum, potentially marking the first time a sitting senator is removed by his constituents.

Buba’s woes deepened with revelations about his origins. Despite claiming to represent Bauchi, investigations show he hails from Plateau State, raising questions about his legitimacy.

An anonymous community leader expressed frustration, stating, “We thought he was one of us, but he’s not even a Bauchi indigene.”

READ ALSO: Senator Buba fires back at Bauchi Gov over banditry allegation

Buba’s political rise has been controversial. After moving to Bauchi in 2001, he built connections through family ties and political maneuvering, eventually securing a position as the Caretaker Chairman of Toro Local Government.

His success in politics, including his controversial senatorial nomination in 2022, has raised doubts about his integrity. Critics argue that his rise was influenced by powerful figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Bauchi Governor Isa Yuguda.

Buba’s recent appointment as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence has attracted fierce criticism. Political analysts argue that it is dangerous to have someone with such alleged links to terrorism overseeing national security matters.

“This is a grave error,” one analyst stated. “It’s a dangerous gamble to have him in charge of national security.”

With growing discontent, Buba has been noticeably absent from public events, fueling speculation that he is avoiding the backlash from his constituents. His dwindling visibility only adds to the tension, as many believe he is distancing himself from the growing outrage.

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Europe wants to strike Russia

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Europe wants to strike Russia © Pixabay
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The European Union should directly use $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to finance the recovery of war-torn Ukraine, according to Kaja Kallas, the candidate for the EU’s top foreign policy post.

Ms. Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister nominated for the post of EU high representative, said member states should abandon any doubts about the direct use of these assets, citing Kiev’s “legitimate claims” on these funds, following Russia’s invasion.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine knew how to use Russia’s frozen assets. He proposed transferring the entire $300 billion to Kiev. “Frankly, these are Ukrainian funds,” he said.

According to World Bank estimates, by the end of 2023, Ukraine’s total economic, social and financial losses due to the war will amount to $499 billion.

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