Jury to decide Trump's fate in historic criminal trial - CNA

NEW YORK: Jurors were to begin deliberating on Wednesday (May 29) on whether to convict Donald Trump in the first criminal trial of a former United States president - with their decision potentially upending November's election, in which the Republican seeks a comeback.

After weeks of testimony from more than 20 witnesses, the piercing glare of the legal spotlight now shifts to the 12-strong New York jury, anonymous for their own protection amid soaring political tensions across the US.

After receiving final instructions from the judge, the jury will retire to consider a verdict that - whichever way it goes - will have an outsized impact on Trump, and the country as a whole.

"You must set aside any personal opinions you have in favor or against the defendant," said judge Juan Merchan ahead of their deliberations.

"As a juror, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community."

No time limit is placed on their deliberations, but an acquittal or conviction would require unanimity. If just one juror refuses to join the others, the judge would have to declare a mistrial.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse a US$130,000 payment to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels, when her account of an alleged sexual encounter could have imperiled his 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors say the fraud was motivated by a plot to prevent voters from knowing about his behaviour.

If Trump is found guilty, the political repercussions would far outweigh the seriousness of the charges as, barely five months before the presidential election, the candidate would also become a convicted criminal.

Trump fired off a characteristically angry all-caps message on his Truth Social app, complaining about a "KANGAROO COURT!" and a "CORRUPT AND CONFLICTED JUDGE".

In a full day of closing arguments on Tuesday, his defense team insisted the evidence for a conviction simply did not exist, while the prosecution countered that it was voluminous and inescapable.

"The defendant's intent to defraud could not be any clearer," said prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, urging the jurors to use their "common sense" and return a guilty verdict.

If convicted, Trump faces up to four years in prison on each of 34 counts, but legal experts say that as a first-time offender he is unlikely to get jail time.

A conviction would not bar him from the November ballot and he would almost certainly appeal. In the case of a mistrial, prosecutors could seek a new trial.

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2024-05-29 15:14:55Z
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Singapore to deliver keynote speech at Asia's top defence summit - CNA

SINGAPORE: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday (May 31), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a press statement.

This would make him the first Philippine head of state to do so at Asia's top defence summit.

The Shangri-La Dialogue - which is in its 21st edition this year - brings together top defence officials from around the world to discuss critical security challenges.

Previous keynote speakers include then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Marcos Jr, who is in the country from Wednesday to Saturday, will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, and a high-level Philippine delegation.

During his visit, Mr Marcos Jr will call on Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said MFA.

He will also meet newly-minted Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong as well as Mr Lee, who is now Senior Minister. 

Mr Marcos Jr previously visited Singapore in September 2022 at the invitation of former President Halimah Yacob. It was his first state visit to the country since taking office in June.

Singapore and the Philippines also signed several bilateral agreements during the visit to boost cooperation in areas such as counterterrorism, the digital field and personal data protection.

Mr Marcos Jr visited Singapore again last September to speak at the 10th Asian Summit organised by the US-based Milken Institute. He also stayed on to watch the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

During a working visit to the Philippines in April, Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo unveiled a logo to commemorate the milestone. 

Dr Balakrishnan said then that Singapore and the Philippines are keen on strengthening collaboration in areas such as the green economy, smart and sustainable infrastructure, as well as innovation.

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2024-05-29 10:00:00Z
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Taiwan government to reject contested parliament reforms - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's Cabinet will reject and send back for review legislation the opposition passed on Tuesday (May 28) on parliamentary reforms that have brought tens of thousands onto the streets to protest and accusations of Chinese interference.

The peaceful protests, and sometimes violent confrontations in parliament over the reforms, have been taking place against a backdrop of broader concern about efforts by China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, to influence the island's politics and split Taiwanese public opinion.

The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Lai Ching-te won the presidency in January elections, but the party lost its majority in parliament. Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), along with the small Taiwan People's Party, together have the most seats.

The parliament reforms give lawmakers the power to ask the military, private companies or individuals to disclose information deemed relevant by parliamentarians, who have the power to punish those who fail to cooperate.

They also criminalise contempt of parliament by government officials and require the president to give regular reports to parliament and answer lawmakers' questions, which would be a first for Taiwan.

In a statement late on Monday, the Cabinet said the legislation could breach the constitution and separation of power between the executive and legislative branches, and once it had received the documents it will send them back for parliament to reconsider.

The Cabinet said while that was likely to be vetoed by parliament, it was "duty bound" to do this.

The DPP, which says the reforms were forced through without proper consultation and their content either vague or an over-reach of power, said it would support its lawmakers to ask the constitutional court for an interpretation on whether the laws and the way the reforms were pushed through were constitutional.

The DPP, and many of the protesters, have repeatedly accused the KMT of being in league with Beijing in trying to ram through the legislation.

Several senior KMT leaders have visited China this year in what the party says is an effort to keep open lines of communication. China refuses to talk to Lai or his party, saying they are "separatists".

The KMT strongly denies being pro-Beijing and says the parliament reforms are meant to improve government accountability.

"The KMT dismisses the accusations of collusion with China as unfounded and politically driven," the party said in statement in the early hours of Wednesday.

China views Taiwan as its own territory. The government in Taipei rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

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2024-05-29 01:37:00Z
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Israel pounds Gaza as UN Security Council meets over deadly strike - CNA

Sunday evening's strike, which medics said also wounded hundreds of civilians, drew worldwide condemnation.

The sight of the charred carnage, blackened corpses and children being rushed to hospitals led UN chief Antonio Guterres to declare that "there is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop."

NO "BLIND EYE"

One million civilians have fled Rafah since Israel launched its assault on the city in early May, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Nearly eight months into the deadliest Gaza war, Israel has faced ever louder opposition, as well as cases before two Netherlands-based international courts.

The White House said on Tuesday it is not turning a "blind eye" to the plight of Palestinian civilians, but it has no plans to change its Israel policy following the deadly weekend strike in Rafah.

"As a result of this strike on Sunday I have no policy changes to speak to," Kirby told a White House briefing. "It just happened, the Israelis are going to investigate it."

Kirby said, "this is not something that we've turned a blind eye to" but added: "We have not seen them go in with large units, large numbers of troops, in columns and formations in some sort of coordinated manoeuvre against multiple targets on the ground."

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas' Oct 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,096 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.

DIRE HEALTH TOLL

On Tuesday, Gaza civil defence agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said 21 people were killed in an "occupation strike targeting the tents of displaced people" in west Rafah.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza gave the same toll and said 64 people were wounded, 10 seriously.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said it had suspended aid deliveries into Gaza by the sea after its temporary pier was damaged by bad weather.

The World Health Organization said Israel's military offensive in Rafah was already taking a dire health toll in southern Gaza, and if it continues, "substantial" increases in deaths could be expected.

"There are currently 60 WHO trucks (in Egypt) waiting to get into Gaza," said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, adding that only three trucks with medical supplies had entered since May 7.

On the diplomatic front, Egypt has "intensified efforts to relaunch" negotiations for a "truce and a detainee exchange deal", the state-linked Al-Qahera News reported.

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2024-05-29 05:05:00Z
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China sentences former asset manager to death for 'extremely large' bribes - CNA

SHANGHAI: A Chinese court on Tuesday (May 28) sentenced to death a former executive of one of the country's largest state-controlled asset management firms for accepting "extremely large" bribes, state media reported.

Bai Tianhui, the former general manager at a subsidiary of bad-debt manager Huarong Asset Management, was found guilty of receiving the equivalent of more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$151.9 million) while using his management positions to offer favourable treatment in "matters including project acquisition and corporate financing", state broadcaster CCTV said.

Huarong has been a major target of Chinese President Xi Jinping's years-long graft crackdown, with its former chairman Lai Xiaomin executed in January 2021 for receiving bribes worth US$260 million.

Supporters say the anti-corruption campaign promotes clean governance, but critics say it also provides Xi with the power to purge political rivals.

The court sentenced Bai to "death, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property", CCTV said.

"The value of Bai Tianhui's bribery crime was extremely large, the circumstances of the crime were extremely serious, the social impact was extremely bad, and it caused extremely heavy damage to the interests of the country and the people," the court decided, according to the broadcaster.

China's top leaders declared at a Politburo meeting on Monday that discussed financial risks that "those who fail to perform their duties will be held to account, and be severely punished", state news agency Xinhua said.

Recent months have seen several figures from China's financial and banking sectors targeted by anti-graft authorities.

In April, Liu Liange, chairman of the Bank of China from 2019 to 2023, admitted to "accepting bribes and illegally providing loans".

That same month, former head of Chinese state-owned banking giant Everbright Group Li Xiaopeng came under investigation for "severe violations" of the law.

China classifies death penalty statistics as a state secret, though Amnesty and other rights groups believe thousands of people are executed in the country every year.

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2024-05-29 00:37:00Z
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Thousands protest as Taiwan's parliament passes contested reforms - CNA

The KMT has denounced the DPP for trying to "paint them red", the colour of China's Communist Party, and says the DPP is trying to stymie efforts to investigate corruption cases and sow unfounded fears about the reforms.

Outside parliament, protesters showed their anger at the reforms being passed, and also shouted "refuse Chinese political interference", among other slogans.

"This is the people's voice," said Zheng Hung-gun, 33, who works in the food industry. "Taiwanese are not afraid of enemies from outside but we are worried about our internal enemies."

On Friday night, tens of thousands thronged the roads around parliament protesting the reforms.

Several senior KMT leaders have visited China this year, in what the party says is an effort to keep lines of communication open. It denies being pro-Beijing.

China refuses to speak to Lai or the DPP, saying they are "separatists". Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future and has repeatedly offered talks with China, but been rebuffed.

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2024-05-28 11:02:33Z
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China expresses 'grave concern' over Israel's military operations in Rafah - CNA

Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war in October last year.

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

And President Xi Jinping has called for an "international peace conference" to resolve the fighting.

The war in Gaza started after Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,050 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

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2024-05-28 10:10:52Z
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