Donald Trump ordered to pay E Jean Carroll US$83.3 million in defamation case, will appeal verdict - CNA

TRUMP WON'T BE DETERRED, LAWYER SAYS

Alina Habba, the lawyer who led Trump's defence in Carroll's case, cast Friday's verdict in political terms, and predicted Trump's appeal will succeed.

"President Trump is leading in the polls, and now we see what you get in New York," Habba told reporters. "It will not deter us, we will keep fighting, and I assure you we didn't win today, but we will win."

Trump on Friday stalked out of the courtroom during the closing argument of Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, but returned for Habba's closing argument.

He has used Carroll's case and his other legal travails to portray himself as the victim of politically motivated lies and a biased, out-of-control judicial system. Trump separately has pleaded not guilty to 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss.

Trump is also awaiting a decision, perhaps this month, from a New York judge on how much he should be penalised in state Attorney General Letitia James' US$370 million civil fraud lawsuit against him and his namesake Trump Organization.

During the trial, Trump was heard muttering at the case was a "con job" and "witch hunt" and that he still did not know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to keep quiet.

TRUMP SAW A "HOAX"

Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, had argued that Trump acted toward Carroll as though he were not bound by the law.

"This trial is about getting him to stop, once and for all," she added. "Now is the time to make him pay for it dearly."

Habba countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll's memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump's denials that began five hours later.

She also argued that Carroll enjoyed her newfound fame and was "happier than ever," citing her testimony that she had entered a "cocoon of love" from her supporters.

Trump was allowed to testify on Thursday, but spent only four minutes on the witness stand.

His brief appearance resulted from Judge Kaplan having forbidden him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled.

Trump confirmed that he stood behind his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had been shown, in which he called Carroll's claims a "hoax" and said she was "mentally sick".

Carroll wrote the "Ask E Jean" column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC's "Today" and ABC's "Good Morning America." She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.

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2024-01-26 23:35:32Z
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UN's top court orders Israel to take measures to prevent and punish incitement of genocide in Gaza - CNA

Israel dismissed the case as a "grossly distorted story" and said that if any genocidal acts had been carried out, they had been executed against Israel during the Oct 7 Hamas attacks.

"What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts," said Tal Becker, Israel's top lawyer.

Israel must report back to it on what steps it was taking in a month's time, the court said.

But while the ICJ's decisions are final and without appeal, the court has no way to enforce them.

Although its rulings are legally binding, it has no mechanism to enforce them and they are sometimes completely ignored -- it has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine for example.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already hinted Israel would not abide by any ruling saying "no one will stop us", not even a verdict in The Hague.

But experts believe that aside from the significant symbolic impact of the ruling, there could be tangible consequences on the ground.

"It makes it much harder for other states to continue to support Israel in the face of a neutral third party finding there is a risk of genocide," said Juliette McIntyre, international law expert from the University of South Australia.

"States may withdraw military or other support for Israel in order to avoid this," she added.

The court did not rule at this stage on the core of the case brought by South Africa - whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognised the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.

South Africa's deputy president Paul Mashatile and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola were seen cheering and dancing at a gathering of the governing African National Congress party following the court's verdict.

South Africa argued two weeks ago that Israel's aerial and ground offensive was aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

Acts of genocide named in the convention include: Killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group in whole or in part.

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2024-01-26 13:05:00Z
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Singapore leaders congratulate India counterparts on 75th Republic Day - CNA

SINGAPORE: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have written to India's leaders, congratulating them on the country’s 75th Republic Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday (Jan 26).

Republic Day marks the adoption of India's constitution and the country's transition to a republic.

In a letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, Mr Tharman recalled his last visits to India as Senior Minister in 2022 and 2023.

“Singapore and India share a long and warm partnership, underpinned by close people to people ties and strong cooperation in a multitude of fields,” he wrote. 

He also congratulated Mrs Murmu on the successful conclusion of India’s G20 presidency, highlighting that Mr Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and other ministers had attended various G20 meetings in the country. 

Singapore, along with India, co-hosted the inaugural ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise in May 2023, and this was a reflection of the "deeper engagement" both sides have enjoyed under the upgraded ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Mr Tharman added.

“I look forward to continuing to work with you to further strengthen ties between our two countries,” he wrote. 

In his congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Lee said that "Singapore and India enjoy a deep and longstanding friendship".

This friendship, he added, was underpinned by "wide-ranging cooperation in trade, finance, defence, and close people-to-people ties". 

Mr Lee also said he was glad to have met Mr Modi at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last September.

"Under your leadership, India skilfully navigated a multitude of contentious issues to successfully conclude the G20 New Delhi Summit with a consensus Leaders Declaration," he added. 

Through the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, both countries are exploring collaboration in new areas like food security, sustainability, upskilling and digitalisation.

Mr Lee also touched on the PayNow-Unified Payments Interface linkage Singapore and India jointly launched in February 2023 and that it had seen a "steady uptake of users". 

“This has made cross-border transactions safer and faster for businesses and individuals on both sides,” he wrote. 

Mr Lee said that both countries have also cooperated well in ASEAN and “Singapore welcomes India’s deepened engagement of the region”.

“As country coordinator for ASEAN-India relations, Singapore will maintain the momentum in ASEAN-India relations following its upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022,” he added.

Both Mr Tharman and Mr Lee concluded their messages with well-wishes to their respective counterparts. 

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2024-01-26 08:25:59Z
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Two dead, 3 feared buried alive in Cameron Highlands landslide - CNA

KUANTAN: Search and rescue efforts are ongoing in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands after a landslide struck a house in the early hours of Friday (Jan 26), cutting off road access to the site in the Blue Valley area. 

Two people were killed and three others are feared buried alive. All five are Myanmar nationals aged between 25 and 56.

The body of a man was recovered at about 11am and handed over to the police for further action. 

A second victim - another man - was found at 12.05pm, said Cameron Highlands police chief Azri Ramli.

His body was found about 10m from the original location of the house, said Azri.

The bodies are now being removed from the rubble, he said, adding that the five Myanmar nationals have been identified as Shing Lan Har, 56, Shing Aung, 39, Om Myue, 38, Haphey, 36, and Thang Moung, 25.

The Pahang Fire and Rescue Department said it received a distress call at about 2.50am. 

The firemen who responded had to trek about 3km to get to the scene, said the department's assistant director of operations, Ismail Abdul Ghani. 

"The area is quite dangerous, and at the moment, we are restricting media access until the situation is deemed safe," he added. 

The country's special tactical operation and rescue team (STORM) and a K9 unit were subsequently deployed, in addition to special forces from Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

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2024-01-26 06:59:13Z
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One dead, 4 feared buried alive in Cameron Highlands landslide - CNA

KUANTAN: Search and rescue efforts are ongoing in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands after a landslide struck a house in the early hours of Friday (Jan 26), cutting off road access to the site in the Blue Valley area. 

One person was killed and four others are feared buried alive. All five are Myanmar nationals aged between 25 and 56.

The Pahang Fire and Rescue Department said it received a distress call at about 2.50am. 

The firemen who responded had to trek about 3km to get to the scene, said the department's assistant director of operations, Ismail Abdul Ghani. 

"The area is quite dangerous, and at the moment, we are restricting media access until the situation is deemed safe," he added. 

The country's special tactical operation and rescue team (STORM) and a K9 unit were subsequently deployed, in addition to special forces from Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. 

The body of a man was recovered at about 11am and handed over to the police for further action. 

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2024-01-26 05:00:36Z
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Gaza health ministry says 20 killed, 150 wounded in Israeli strike on food aid queue - CNA

GAZA/DOHA/JERUSALEM: An Israeli strike on Gaza City killed 20 Palestinians and wounded 150 who were queuing for food aid on Thursday (Jan 25), Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said, in what Palestinian groups called a "war crime".

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. The National and Islamic Forces Follow-up Committee, a coalition of militant and political groups, said Israeli forces targeted the civilians waiting for relief aid. Dozens were killed and injured in a "war crime and genocide," the group said in a statement.

To the south of the enclave Israeli tanks battered areas around two hospitals in Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis, forcing displaced people into a new desperate scramble for safety, residents said.

Meanwhile, in the north, a World Health Organization official described the food situation as "absolutely horrific" and humanitarian workers said rare deliveries of aid were mobbed by desperate people who were visibly starving with sunken eyes.

Most of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million population is now squeezed into Khan Younis and towns just north and south of it, after being driven out of Gaza's northern half earlier in Israel's military campaign, now in its fourth month.

Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours in Khan Younis, where Israel has shifted full-blown military operations after starting to pull forces out of northern areas it says it now largely controls.

"There's no safe area, where shall we go? Stop the war, it is enough, we are drained, everyone is drained, children are gone, and adults are gone. Everyone is gone and the world is watching," a Palestinian woman said in Rafah, on Gaza's southern edge.

In its latest update, the Israeli military said forces in Khan Younis were fighting militants at close quarters and were using precision air strikes and snipers to take out multiple Hamas targets.

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2024-01-25 19:53:00Z
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Charges against former Malaysian finance minister Daim delayed due to his health: Anti-graft agency - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been given the go-ahead to charge former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin, though the process has been deferred due to his health.

The MACC received permission to charge Daim last week, chief commissioner Azam Baki said on Thursday (Jan 25).

"I confirm that we received approval to charge Daim a week ago, but when our officers informed his lawyer about it, they told us he had been admitted to a private hospital," Azam said.

The 85-year-old, who is facing an anti-graft probe, was admitted before MACC obtained permission to press charges. No reason was given for his admission.

Daim, whose real name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, is expected to face at least one charge for failing to declare several properties he jointly owns with his wife, Na'imah Abdul Khalid.

She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of failing to declare assets.

The undeclared assets include Ilham Tower, the companies Ilham Tower and Ilham Baru, two Mercedes-Benz cars and several properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

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2024-01-25 08:10:49Z
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