WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump and his deputy Mike Pence met on Monday (Jan 11) evening in the Oval Office, a senior official said, signalling a common front as Democrats press the vice president to have the president removed from office as unfit.
"The two had a good conversation," the administration official said of the meeting, their first since last week's assault on the US Capitol.
According to the official, Trump has no intention of resigning his office before his term comes to an end on Jan 20.
The official likewise indicated that Pence has no intention of invoking the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove Trump as unfit to discharge his duties - as Democrats are demanding.
Trump and Pence "reiterated that those who broke the law and stormed the Capitol last week do not represent the America first movement backed by 75 million Americans", the official said.
The pair "pledged to continue the work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term", they added.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on Tuesday evening on a resolution calling for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, and Pelosi will give him 24 hours to respond.
After that, she said, Democrats would move forward with the process of impeaching Trump for "incitement of insurrection" over his role in last Wednesday's storming of the US Capitol by his supporters.
In an angry speech before the assault, Trump urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and demand that Pence, who was leading a joint session of Congress on certifying Joe Biden's victory, must intervene to reverse his election defeat.
Pence refused, and he was ultimately the one who announced to lawmakers Trump's and his loss to Biden and Kamala Harris, the incoming vice president.
Some Trump supporters, furious over Pence's action, were chanting that he should be hanged.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has declared a national emergency to battle the coronavirus pandemic that has killed as many people this year as the whole of 2020.
The Palace said on Tuesday (Jan 12) that King Abdullah Ahmad Shah has assented to the government's request for an emergency order that will be effective up to Aug 1, or earlier should Covid-19 cases come under control.
Noting that the number of beds and intensive care slots at hospitals for Covid-19 patients were nearly full, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang approved the emergency powers for the administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as a "proactive move".
WASHINGTON: Congressional Democrats on Monday (Jan 11) formally began the process of impeaching President Donald Trump for a historic second time, accusing him of "incitement of insurrection" over his supporters' deadly storming of the US Capitol.
The move - which threatens to torpedo the single-term president's future political ambitions - could make for a frenetic culmination of four years of controversy ahead of Joe Biden's Jan 20 inauguration.
Democrats introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to remove Trump as unfit for office under the US Constitution's 25th Amendment.
But Republicans blocked its immediate adoption and Democrats followed up by introducing an article of impeachment of Trump for "incitement of insurrection".
Speaker Nancy Pelosi hit out at House Republicans, accusing them of enabling Trump's "unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue."
"Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end," she said in a statement.
The House is now scheduled to vote on Tuesday evening on the demand for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, and Pelosi will give him 24 hours to respond.
Biden has not publicly backed impeachment. But in Delaware, where the president-elect was receiving his second dose of the coronaviru vaccine, he told reporters: "I've been clear that President Trump should not be in office. Period."
Trump has been largely silent in recent days - making few statements and holding no news conferences. He has been banned from Twitter, his favoured public platform, for language that could incite violence.
He plans to travel Tuesday to Texas in one of his final trips as president, reportedly to claim success in delivering on his pledge to build a border wall to keep out immigrants from Mexico.
US President Donald Trump faces a possible fast-tracked effort to remove him from in closing days of his term. (Photo: AFP/Brendan Smialowski)
As Democrats began to act, the Capitol building was open to lawmakers and staff but under tight security and ringed by a metal fence after Wednesday's assault by Trump supporters that left five people dead.
HISTORIC SECOND IMPEACHMENT
Inside, some windows and doors that were broken and breached by rioters remained boarded up, while reinforced glass on doors near the Rotunda bore cracks from repeated battering.
The attack on Congress shook the core of American democracy and drew international condemnation. It has ignited a new effort to remove Trump, who is accused of whipping up the mob into storming the chambers where lawmakers were certifying Biden's Nov 3 win.
Speaking in the building's exalted Rotunda, House Democrat Katherine Clark said she felt "profoundly angry" about the invasion but expressed confidence the impeachment would be carried out.
"Every single day that this president is in office is a day of crisis for this country," Clark, a member of House leadership, told AFP.
"He has incited a seditious mob to come and overthrow our government and he needs to be held accountable for that and removed from office."
Trump was already impeached once by the Democratic-controlled House in December 2019 for pressuring Ukraine's president to dig up political dirt on Biden.
He was acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate.
If the House again votes to impeach, Trump would be the first US leader to be charged a second time with "high crimes and misdemeanours".
'ATTEMPTED COUP'
Even with time running short, House Democrats likely have the votes to impeach Trump again and congressman David Cicilline, who introduced the resolution, told reporters afterward he expects it will find Republican backing.
"This was an attempted coup to overthrow the government, and we have a responsibility as Congress to respond to that," said Cicilline.
Although two Republican Senators - Pat Toomey and Lisa Murkowski - have publicly called on Trump to resign, Democrats are unlikely to muster the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump in the 100-member Senate and remove him from office.
The impeachment effort is nevertheless seen by Democrats as worthwhile.
While any conviction would likely occur after the president has left office, it would disqualify Trump, who is considering a run in 2024, from holding public office again.
Trump was joined by Republic congressman Mo Brooks, who is facing censure in Congress after telling the crowd it was time to "start taking down names and kicking ass."
Despite the crackdown, Trump supporters have threatened new action in coming days both in Washington and state capitol buildings.
Senate rules mean the upper chamber would likely be unable to open an impeachment trial before Jan 19.
Some Democrats, for their part, have expressed concern that a Senate trial would hamper Biden's efforts to get his cabinet confirmed and quickly lay out his agenda, starting with the fight against the coronavirus and the need to support the economy.
Five states - Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor and Sabah - and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will re-enter the movement control order (MCO), Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address.
The reimposed measures will run from Wednesday to Jan 26.
Here are the key restrictions under the MCO:
•No travelling between states or districts
•Roadblocks will be set up to limit travel to a 10km radius from home
•People are urged to stay home. Only two people per household are allowed to head out to buy groceries
•Only two people are allowed per vehicle
•Social gatherings are banned, including weddings, seminars and group sport
•Eateries and hawker stalls may operate but only takeaways and food deliveries are allowed
•Supermarkets, healthcare services and banks are allowed to operate, with strict SOP compliance: always wear masks, use hand sanitiser frequently, and observe physical distancing at all times
•Outdoor recreational activities allowed among people from the same household
•No more than two people are allowed to jog together at any one time
•Only five essential economic sectors are allowed to operate: manufacturing, construction, service, trade and distribution, and plantations and commodities
•Non-essential services staff to work from home
•Maximum of five people allowed in mosques and houses of worship
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will tighten COVID-19 restrictions beginning Wednesday (Jan 13), said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in a renewed effort to combat the country's alarming rise of COVID-19 cases.
In a televised address on Monday, Mr Muhyiddin said five states, including Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will be placed under Movement Control Order (MCO) again for two weeks until Jan 26.
Interstate travel is banned across the country, while travelling between districts is not allowed for the states under MCO, he added.
"To prevent cross-state and cross-district (travel), roadblocks will be enforced from 12.01am on Wednesday," Mr Muhyiddin said, adding that movement was limited to a 10km radius for the states under MCO.
The country's healthcare system is at breaking point, the prime minister said.
"The situation today is indeed very alarming, Our healthcare system is under tremendous pressure now than at any other time since the start of the pandemic. As I have said before, unprecedented situations call for unprecedented measures," he added.
Recent four-digit daily jump in cases brought the national total to more than 135,000, with more than 550 deaths. On Monday, 2,232 new cases brought the total active cases to 28,554.
Residents register for coronavirus testing at a private hospital in Sunway, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 7, 2020. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
In his address, Mr Muhyiddin said another six states - Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan - will be placed under conditional MCO (CMCO), while Perlis and Sarawak are under the recovery MCO (RMCO).
He added that social activities such as wedding receptions, conferences, religious gatherings, seminars, courses and mass sports are not allowed.
STUDENTS AND EXAM CANDIDATES ALLOWED TO ATTEND SCHOOL
While strict movement restrictions are in place, an exception would be provided for students and examination candidates, including those sitting for their Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) examinations in 2020 and 2021.
"They will be allowed to attend school with tight standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Education Ministry will give more details on the SOPs," he said.
The government has also identified five sectors which are allowed to operate and categorised as essential economic sectors, which are manufacturing, construction, services, trade and distribution, and the plantation and commodities, the prime minister added.
Mr Muhyiddin also announced that the third phase of clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines will take place on Jan 21 in nine ministry hospitals. A total of 3,000 volunteers will be involved.
In addition, the country is expected to receive the first phase supplies of Pfizer vaccines by the end of February.
"These coming two weeks are very important not just for ourselves, but for the country.
"All forms of freedom that we have sacrificed - cutting connection with friends, isolating at home, and the difficulty to carry out social activities outside, can save our lives," Mr Muhyiddin said.
Malaysia enforced the MCO beginning Mar 18 last year, mandating business closure and travel restrictions in a bid to rein in the spread of COVID-19.
The SOPs were gradually relaxed when the MCO was replaced by CMCO and then RMCO. More businesses were allowed to reopen while tourism activities could resume, among others.
People wearing protective masks on a train in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 30, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng)
However, new cases began spiking in September with new clusters detected in the state of Sabah, marking the start of Malaysia’s “third wave”.
By mid-October, Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan were placed back under CMCO status, and Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya soon followed suit.
On Oct 25, the Malaysian ruler rejected Mr Muhyiddin's suggestion to declare a state of emergency in the country over the COVID-19 situation. Nonetheless, emergency was later invoked in Batu Sapi and Bugaya in Sabah as well as Gerik in Perak so to delay the by-elections that were due to take place in these constituencies.
A record high of 3,027 cases was reported on Jan 7.
Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said last week that Malaysia’s COVID-19 treatment and quarantine facilities were being pressured to “breaking point”. He also said authorities were mulling the potential of implementing home quarantines for low-risk and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.
While Malaysia's bed capacity for COVID-19 patients is 23,000, active cases have surpassed 28,000 currently.
