US lawmakers call for criminal charges against Trump - CNA

Charges could result in a ban from public office for the 76-year-old Republican, who still wields considerable power in the Republican Party, and even prison time.

"To cast a vote in the United States is an act of faith and hope," committee chairman Bennie Thompson said.

"That faith in our system is the foundation of American democracy. If the faith is broken, so is our democracy. Donald Trump broke that faith."

The seven Democratic and two Republican panel members are winding down their work before the end of the year, and have compiled their findings into an eight-chapter report set to be released on Wednesday.

The committee's case is that Trump "oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power".

"TRUMP KNEW HE LOST"

Investigators say the plot began with Trump's campaign to spread allegations he knew were false that the election was marred by widespread fraud.

He is accused of trying to corrupt the Justice Department and of pressuring his vice president Mike Pence, as well as state election officials and legislators, to overturn the vote by violating the Constitution and the law.

Trump is also accused of summoning and assembling the mob in Washington, and directing it toward the Capitol despite knowing it was armed with assault rifles, handguns and numerous other weapons.

And for hours he ignored pleas from his team to take action to stop the violence, lawmakers say.

Democratic panel member Zoe Lofgren said Trump's false fraud claims - far from being spontaneous - were part of a deliberate attempt to sow distrust in democracy that began long before the insurrection.

Lofgren repeated the panel's suggestion that Trump allies had engaged in witness tampering, alleging that someone linked to the former president had offered potential employment to a witness prior to their testimony.

Lofgren said a witness was also told by a lawyer linked to Trump that she could pretend to not remember facts as she was giving evidence.

Lofgren also returned to an accusation previously leveled by the panel that Trump had "raised hundreds of millions of dollars with false representations made to his online donors."

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2022-12-19 19:41:00Z
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Malaysia PM Anwar wins vote of confidence at first parliament sitting - CNA

Ties between GPS and DAP have been fraught as the latter cancelled some projects in Sarawak during the short-lived PH administration from 2018 to 2020. Additionally, GPS and DAP had campaigned bitterly against each in the urban state and parliamentary seats in Sarawak.

But DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said on Nov 23 that he was in Kuching to speak with GPS chief Abang Johari Abang Gopeng and apologise on behalf of DAP if any of its statements had insulted the people and government of Sarawak.

GPS said it accepted the apology and added that it will join the Anwar-led unity government and leave the issue of Cabinet positions to the new prime minister.

After a special meeting of the Malay rulers on Nov 24 regarding the political impasse, Istana Negara announced Mr Anwar as the next prime minister of Malaysia.

MUHYIDDIN CHALLENGES PM’S LEGITIMACY

In a separate press conference that day, Mr Muhyiddin insisted that he commands the majority support from the MPs to lead the government.

He also called on Mr Anwar to prove that he has the support of the majority of lawmakers.

“For the sake of the people's confidence in the legitimacy of Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, he should prove that he has the support of the majority of MPs,” he said.

“This must be proven through the process that has been set by the parliament speaker in a letter dated Nov 20, which is by submitting the statutory declarations (SDs) of the majority of MPs.”

On Dec 7, PN wrested from PH the parliamentary seat of Padang Serai in Kedah by more than 16,000 votes, taking its seats to 74 after delayed polling due to the death of a candidate.

Mr Muhyiddin said the result showed the public did not approve of the PH-BN partnership in a unity government proposed by the king.

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2022-12-19 10:44:00Z
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China reports first COVID-19 deaths in weeks as official count questioned - CNA

The NHC reported 1,995 symptomatic infections for Dec 18, compared with 2,097 a day earlier.

But infection rates have also become an unreliable guide as far less mandatory PCR testing is being conducted following the recent easing. The NHC stopped reporting asymptomatic cases last week citing the testing drop.

China's stocks fell and the yuan eased against the dollar on Monday, as investors grew concerned that surging COVID-19 cases would further weigh on the world's second-largest economy despite pledges of government support.

The virus was also sweeping through trading floors in Beijing and spreading fast in the financial hub of Shanghai, with illness and absence thinning already light trade and forcing regulators to cancel a weekly meeting vetting public share sales.

Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp said on Monday it had suspended work at its Beijing plant due to COVID-19 infections.

A survey by World Economics showed on Monday China's business confidence fell in December to its lowest since January 2013. China's economy is expected to grow 3 per cent this year, its worst performance in nearly half a century.

SPREADING FAST

China's chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou on Saturday said the country was in the throes of the first of three COVID-19 waves expected this winter, which was more in line with what people said they are experiencing on the ground.

"I'd say 60 to 70 per cent of my colleagues ... are infected right now," Liu, a 37-year-old university canteen worker in Beijing, told Reuters, requesting to be identified by his surname.

Beijing city official Xu Hejian told reporters on Monday COVID-19 was spreading fast in the capital, putting pressure on medical resources. Still, more restrictions will be lifted, with previously-closed venues located underground, from bars to internet cafes, allowed to re-open, Xu said.

Xu made no comment on any fatalities.

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2022-12-19 10:12:21Z
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Thai king's daughter receiving heart, lung, kidney 'support' - CNA

BANGKOK: The Thai king's eldest daughter remained in hospital on Monday (Dec 19) receiving support for her heart, lungs and kidney, according to a palace statement after she collapsed last week.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol initially fell ill Wednesday evening during a military dog training session at Nakhon Ratchasima, north of the capital Bangkok.

Known in Thailand as "Princess Bha", the 44-year-old is the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the only child from his first marriage.

The kingdom's succession rules favour male heirs; however, the palace has not formally announced an heir apparent.

Following the princess' collapse, she was flown to Bangkok where she continues to receive intensive medical care under close observation.

In a statement issued Monday morning, the palace said her condition was "stable at one level" without elaborating.

"Her royal highness' heartbeat is controlled by medicine," the statement said, adding that the systole - part of the process by which the heart beats - "does not go well".

"The medical team has offered her royal highness medicine and equipment to support the work of her royal highness's heart, lung and kidney," the statement added.

The princess holds an important ceremonial role in Thai society - where the royal family sits at the apex, protected from criticism by harsh defamation laws which carry prison sentences of up to 15 years per charge.

Around the capital and across the kingdom, books of well-wishing for her recovery were laid out for Thais.

On Saturday the palace announced that King Vajiralongkorn and his wife Queen Suthida had tested positive for COVID-19, with both reporting mild symptoms.

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2022-12-19 04:08:00Z
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China officially reports first COVID-19 deaths in weeks as doubts gather over official count - CNA

The NHC reported 1,995 symptomatic infections for Dec 18, compared with 2,097 a day earlier.

But infection rates have also become an unreliable guide as far less mandatory PCR testing is being conducted following the recent easing. The NHC stopped reporting asymptomatic cases last week citing the testing drop.

China's stocks fell and the yuan eased against the dollar on Monday, as investors grew concerned that surging COVID-19 cases would further weigh on the world's second-largest economy despite pledges of government support.

The virus was also sweeping through trading floors in Beijing and spreading fast in the financial hub of Shanghai, with illness and absence thinning already light trade and forcing regulators to cancel a weekly meeting vetting public share sales.

Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp said on Monday it had suspended work at its Beijing plant due to COVID-19 infections.

SPREADING FAST

China's chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou on Saturday said the country was in the throes of the first of three COVID-19 waves expected this winter, which was more in line with what people said they are experiencing on the ground.

"I'd say 60 to 70 per cent of my colleagues ... are infected right now," Liu, a 37-year-old university canteen worker in Beijing, told Reuters, requesting to be identified by his surname.

While top officials have been downplaying the threat posed by the new Omicron strain of the virus in recent weeks, authorities remain concerned about the elderly, who have been reluctant to get vaccinated.

Officially, China's vaccination rate is above 90 per cent, but the rate for adults who have received booster doses of the vaccine drops to 57.9 per cent, and to 42.3 per cent for people aged 80 and above, according to government data.

In the Shijingshan district of Beijing, medical workers have been going door-to-door offering to vaccinate elderly residents in their homes, China's Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

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2022-12-19 07:46:18Z
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China nursing homes struggle to keep residents safe from COVID-19 wave - CNA

BEIJING: China's nursing homes are fighting an uphill battle to keep their elderly residents safe as a wave of COVID-19 infections sweeps the country following a relaxation of the government's zero-tolerance virus policy.

Facilities are locking themselves out from the outside world with staff sleeping on site, while struggling to get their hands on medication.

China reported 2,097 new symptomatic COVID-19 infections a day earlier, the National Health Commission said on Sunday (Dec 18).

However, official figures have become an unreliable guide as less testing is being done across the country, while asymptomatic cases are also no longer being reported.

Authorities have warned of rapidly growing caseloads, and industry ministry official Zhou Jian said on Wednesday that the country was "making all-out efforts to ramp up the production of key medicines".

Experts fear the country is ill-equipped to manage the "exit wave" of infections as it presses ahead with reopening, with millions of vulnerable elderly people still not fully vaccinated.

And eldercare facilities have now been left to fend for themselves as society reopens, the manager of one privately run Beijing home said.

"We are fully sealed off," the manager, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP.

Only food and supplies are allowed in, and no one is allowed to enter or leave.

He said the home had ordered medical supplies "at a high price", but they had not arrived yet after a week, with the city's logistics network battered by infections among delivery workers.

He also warned it would be impossible to keep the virus out forever. "Couriers and delivery personnel are almost all COVID positive," he said.

"Even if you disinfect or throw away all the outer packaging, plus the plastic packaging, you can't spray disinfectant on all the food that comes in." 

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2022-12-18 08:45:00Z
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Malaysia landslide: Campsite operator offers 'deepest condolences' to the families of victims - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: The operator of Father's Organic Farm has expressed its condolences to the families of the victims of Friday's (Dec 16) landslide.

At least 24 people died, including seven children, after a landslide tore through its campsite, while campers slept in tents at Batang Kali, a popular hilly area near Genting Highlands and about 50km north of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Of the 94 people caught in the landslide, 61 have been rescued but nine are still missing, the Selangor state fire and rescue department has said. 

Writing in both English and Chinese, the operator of Father's Organic Farm said in a Facebook post on Sunday: "Disasters are faceless, love is with us! Our hearts are closely connected with you, may the deceased rest in peace.

"(Our) heartfelt and deepest condolences to the families, (and we pray) for the recovery of survivors and those who were injured."

The operator also thanked emergency workers, with search and rescue operations now into the third day. 

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2022-12-18 07:52:00Z
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