Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis endorse him in show of unity at Republican convention

Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis endorse him in show of unity at Republican convention
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, applaud speakers on the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 17 July 2024
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Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis endorse him in show of unity at Republican convention

Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis endorse him in show of unity at Republican convention
  • Former Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis headline second night
  • Show of harmony in contrast with the Democratic Party, divided over Biden as candidate

MILWAUKEE: Donald Trump’s former leading rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, offered full-throated endorsements of his candidacy at the party’s convention on Tuesday, a display of unity three days after Trump survived an assassination attempt.
Haley, who had described Trump as unelectable and unfit for office during her campaign, nevertheless urged her supporters to vote for him over Democratic President Joe Biden “for the sake of our nation.”
“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him,” the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor said, after taking the stage to a mixture of cheers and boos. “Take it from me.”
DeSantis, the conservative Florida governor whose campaign sputtered early in the year, received a warm welcome from the crowd as he attacked Biden as too old for the job.
Trump smiled and applauded from his box in the arena, where he sat alongside the running mate whose selection he unveiled on Monday, Senator J.D. Vance, himself a former fierce Trump critic who has become a staunch supporter.
The show of harmony was intended to contrast with the Democratic Party, which has spent weeks mired in intraparty tensions over whether Biden, 81, should abandon his reelection bid after his halting June 27 debate performance against Trump, 78, raised fresh questions about his age and mental acuity.
The tenor of the evening’s speeches in Milwaukee — centered on the theme of safety — was more aggressive than the first night, with speakers angrily denouncing Biden’s southern border policies as putting the country’s security at risk. Kari Lake and Bernie Moreno, who are running in high-profile US Senate races in Arizona and Ohio, respectively, and US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas all called the flow of migrants an “invasion.”
Cruz delivered remarks suffused with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, blaming Democrats for what he said was a wave of violent crimes committed by migrants.
While border crossings reached record highs during Biden’s tenure, arrests dropped sharply in June after the president implemented a broad asylum ban. Studies show immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and pledged to launch the largest deportation effort in US history, including the use of federal troops if necessary.
The divisive tone contradicted the message of national unity Trump had promised to deliver this week after the shooting.
Trump entered the arena around 8 p.m. local time (0100 GMT on Wednesday) to a raucous ovation, just as he did on Monday in his first public appearance since a gunman tried to assassinate him on Saturday at a Pennsylvania campaign rally. He was more ebullient than the night before, when he seemed emotional and more subdued than usual. A heavily bandaged ear served as a reminder of how narrowly he survived the attempt.

Biden is ‘all in’
The shooting intensified fears among Americans about the deeply divided state of the nation ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that 80 percent of voters — including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats — agreed “the country is spiraling out of control” in the wake of the shooting.
Authorities were still trying to identify a motive for the shooting. The 20-year-old gunman was killed at the scene by the US Secret Service.
Vance, 39, the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” will deliver the headlining speech on Wednesday. His presence on the ticket is likely to energize core Republican voters, but it is less clear whether he can appeal to more moderate voters, including independents.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 29 percent of US voters, including 52 percent of Republicans, had a favorable opinion of Vance. By comparison, 42 percent of registered voters and 81 percent of Democrats had a favorable view of Biden’s running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The survey of 992 registered voters, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, found Trump leading Biden by 43 percent to 41 percent, within the margin of error.
In his first campaign speech since the assassination attempt, Biden told Black voters in Las Vegas that he was “all in” for his reelection campaign, again dismissing calls from some Democrats to step aside.
The president said he was glad Trump had not been seriously injured but assailed his record in office. Biden has denounced the attack and called for less heated rhetoric.
The four-day convention will culminate with Trump’s prime-time address on Thursday, when he formally accepts the party’s nomination to face Biden in a rematch of their 2020 race.


Trump says urged Apple to manufacture in US not India

Trump says urged Apple to manufacture in US not India
Updated 15 May 2025
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Trump says urged Apple to manufacture in US not India

Trump says urged Apple to manufacture in US not India
  • Apple CEO said in May majority of iPhones in sold in US would have India as country of origin
  • India, hit by US tariffs, has threatened to retaliate response to increased duties on steel, aluminum

DOHA: US President Donald Trump said Thursday he urged Apple to manufacture its products in the United States instead of India, where the US tech giant has said it would be shifting production after US tariffs on China.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said, referring to Apple’s CEO, during a multi-day tour of the Gulf. “I said, Tim, we treated you really good. We put up with all the plants that you built in China for years now.”

The president said he told Cook: “We’re not interested in you building in India... we want you to build here and they’re going to be upping their production in the United States.”

On Monday, the US and China announced an agreement to suspend tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has spooked financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn.

Prior to the agreement between Beijing and Washington, Cook said Apple was “not able to precisely estimate the impact of tariffs.”

When presenting the tech company’s first-quarter profits in early May, Cook said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.”

He warned of the uncertain impact of the 145 percent US tariffs on products from China — the company’s long-time manufacturing hub — despite a temporary reprieve for high-end tech goods such as smartphones and computers.

Although completed smartphones are exempted from Trump’s tariffs for now, not all components that go into Apple devices are spared.

Apple expects US tariffs to cost $900 million in the current quarter, even though their impact was “limited” at the start of this year, according to Cook.

India, also hit by US tariffs, threatened on Tuesday to take retaliatory measures in response to the increased duties on steel and aluminum.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Thursday trade negotiations between India and the United States are ongoing, and any agreement should be mutually beneficial.

Apple announced in February it would invest more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years and promised to hire 20,000 people in the country.

“Apple’s already in for 500 billion but they’re going to be upping their production, so it’ll be great,” Trump said in Qatar.


That ‘tourist’ in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns

That ‘tourist’ in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns
Updated 15 May 2025
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That ‘tourist’ in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns

That ‘tourist’ in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns
  • MIDD offered advice on how to identify possible reconnaissance and sabotage operatives
  • It also warned that Russian saboteurs might also attempt to incite unrest or assassinate “socially significant individuals”

WARSAW: They might look like lost tourists — unkempt and overloaded with gear — or hikers with military haircuts, survival gear and no clue how to behave in the woods.

But Latvia’s intelligence agency said Thursday that they might actually be Russian saboteurs and spies.

In its annual report, Latvia’s Defense Intelligence and Security Service, known by Latvian acronym MIDD, offered advice on how to identify possible reconnaissance and sabotage operatives.

It’s an increasingly relevant concern given regional tensions and a string of arson and other acts of sabotage, which Western governments blame on Russia — allegations that Moscow has repeatedly denied.

The list of telltale signs is striking: slovenly appearance, mismatched military or sportswear, and a knack for asking locals suspicious questions. According to the security service, such groups may linger near military or critical infrastructure sites, pose as humanitarian workers or stay in remote areas without showing any interest in nature.

Some may carry specialized medical kits, maps or radios — items better suited for clandestine operations than camping trips.

The Latvian guidance comes as countries across the region, including new NATO members Sweden and Finland, have been issuing booklets with advice on how to survive war or a natural disaster.

Nearby Poland is now preparing its guidelines, while Norway recently published a book with advice on how to survive for one week.

“We live in an increasingly turbulent world,” it says. “Even though in Norway most things generally function as they normally would, we must remain aware that extreme weather, pandemics, accidents, sabotage — and in the worst case acts of war — can impact us.”

MIDD, one of Latvia’s three security services, alongside the State Security Service and the Constitution Protection Bureau, warned that Russian saboteurs might also attempt to incite unrest or assassinate “socially significant individuals.”

Their activities might also be focused on “studying the position of the target country’s society and inciting unrest directed against the existing government.”

The agency cautioned that appearances can deceive.

“The Ukrainian experience shows that Russian special services are able to adapt,” the report says. Not all spies will fit the mold, and suspicions must be judged in context.

It also warns that if a sabotage group is spotted, leave the James Bond heroics to the professionals.

“If you do think you might have spotted a sabotage group on Latvian soil, MIDD does not recommend tackling them yourself,” it said. “Instead report your suspicions to the State Police, special services, or the nearest armed forces unit.”


Uganda army chief threatens voters who don't choose his father

Uganda army chief threatens voters who don't choose his father
Updated 15 May 2025
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Uganda army chief threatens voters who don't choose his father

Uganda army chief threatens voters who don't choose his father
  • The east African country is due to hold a general election in January
  • The commander of the army also said that all serving women would from now on march in skirts

Nairobi: The Ugandan president’s son said Thursday that any citizen who voted against his father in upcoming polls would be deported, while also banning women in the army from wearing trousers.
The east African country is due to hold a general election in January, and there has been a mounting crackdown on the opposition in recent months.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son and heir-apparent of long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, is infamous for his colorful tweets that touch on everything from military matters to his social life.
On Thursday, he posted on X that individuals who “who do not support Mzee wholeheartedly better be very careful!,” using an honorific for his father.
“We will deport all the traitors in public view!!,” he added.
Earlier this month Kainerugaba claimed to have captured and tortured opposition leader Bobi Wine’s bodyguard Eddie Mutwe, who later appeared in court showing signs of torture, according to Justice Minister Norbert Mao.
In another post, Kainerugaba wrote that he took “FULL responsibility” for the actions of his soldiers, “including the long overdue beating of Eddie Mutwe.”
He added: “That was an appetizer!“
Rounding out his string of posts, the commander of the army also said that all serving women would from now on march in skirts.
“Trousers are for men not for women. Anyone who forces our sisters to put on trousers on parade again will have a very bad day,” he explained.
Only a fraction of the Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF) is made up of women, and they are issued the same daily uniform as their male counterparts. They are permitted to wear skirts on formal occasions, according to local media.


UK PM says in talks over third country ‘return hubs’ for migrants

UK PM says in talks over third country ‘return hubs’ for migrants
Updated 15 May 2025
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UK PM says in talks over third country ‘return hubs’ for migrants

UK PM says in talks over third country ‘return hubs’ for migrants
  • “We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs,” Starmer told a joint news conference with his newly reelected Albanian counterpart Edi Rama
  • Starmer declined to explain how the hubs would work in practice or say with which countries he was in talks

TIRANA: The UK is in talks with different countries about setting up “return hubs” for failed asylum seekers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday on a visit to Albania seeking to bring down immigration.

The UK leader is under pressure to reduce immigration and cut the number of irregular migrants arriving on UK shores, many in small boats, amid the rising popularity of the hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform Party.

“We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs,” Starmer told a joint news conference with his newly reelected Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.

Starmer declined to explain how the hubs would work in practice or say with which countries he was in talks.

But he said his new Labour government had been left a “mess” by the previous Conservative leadership, which he said had failed to process asylum claims.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “This will basically apply to people who have exhausted all legal routes to remain in the UK but are attempting to stall, using various tactics — whether it’s losing their paperwork or using other tactics to frustrate their removal.”

Last July, Starmer’s Labour government abandoned a scheme put in place by the Conservatives to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda.

Rama said hosting a new UK return hub in Albania was not on the table, adding that an earlier deal with Italy had been a “one-off.”

The scheme by Italy for Italian-run facilities to process migrants to be based in Albania is currently bogged down in the courts.

“The model that we’ve brought to Albania in cooperation with Italy ... is a model that takes its time to be tested,” said Rama.

“If it works, it can be replicated, but not in Albania, in other countries of the region.”

In March, the European Commission unveiled a planned reform of the 27-nation bloc’s return system, opening the way for member states to set up migrant return centers outside the EU.

Earlier this week Starmer unveiled tough new immigration policies that included cutting the number of overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement in the country and new powers to deport foreign criminals.

The announcement was widely seen as an attempt to fend off rising support for anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party.

Labour vowed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June.

It peaked at 906,000 in 2023 after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s.

In addition to high levels of legal migration, the UK has also seen unprecedented numbers of irregular migrants. And the numbers of asylum seekers has tripled to 84,200 in 2024, compared to 27,500 between 2010 and 2011.

More than 12,500 migrants have made the perilous Channel crossing so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the UK’s interior ministry.

Under a deal between the previous Conservative government and Tirana in 2022, Albanians arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel can be sent back immediately.

Starmer’s Downing Street office said in a statement there had been a 95 percent reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, while the number of Albanians returned to the country had doubled in the past two years.

Some 5,294 Albanians were sent back in 2024, more than double the 2,035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier.

Starmer also announced an expansion of the Joint Migration Taskforce in the Western Balkans, set up with Albania and Kosovo, to include North Macedonia and Montenegro.

The expansion would allow greater intelligence sharing to intercept smuggling gangs and deploy UK funded drones to snare gangsters funnelling migrants through the Western Balkans corridor to the UK.

Rama has vowed to integrate the Balkan nation into the European Union, and was also set to meet EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa on Thursday in Tirana.


Spain busts lucrative Chinese-Arab money laundering ring

Spain busts lucrative Chinese-Arab money laundering ring
Updated 15 May 2025
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Spain busts lucrative Chinese-Arab money laundering ring

Spain busts lucrative Chinese-Arab money laundering ring
  • Police said the investigation began after the dismantling of a migrant-trafficking gang
  • Police arrested 17 mostly Chinese and Syrian suspects in January

MADRID: Spanish police on Thursday said they had broken up a Chinese-Arab ring that laundered $21 million of proceeds from people and drug trafficking through the informal “hawala” money transfer system.

Police said the investigation began after the dismantling of a migrant-trafficking gang transporting mostly Syrians between Algeria and Spain, which led to a probe into their finances.

An Arab branch of the network “took charge of the reception of money in any part of the world,” while a separate Chinese branch supplied the cash in Spain in exchange for cryptocurrencies.

Police arrested 17 mostly Chinese and Syrian suspects in January — 15 in Spain, one in Austria and another in Belgium — said EU law enforcement agency Europol which supported the operation.

The network’s Belgium-based leader had “Jordanian-Palestinian nationality” and facilitated contacts within Spain, police chief inspector Encarna Ortega told a press conference in Madrid.

He is suspected of coordinating a litany of operations, mainly laundering money from the proceeds of trafficking humans and drugs, she added.

In total, the suspects moved $21 million between June 2022 and September 2024, Spanish police said.

Authorities seized from them 205,000 euros ($229,000) in cash, more than 183,000 euros in cryptocurrency, 18 vehicles, real estate property and illegal cigars worth more than 600,000 euros destined for sale in China.

Hawala is traditional system of moving money between countries based on confidence and a network of intermediaries with minimal paperwork which is popular in parts of Asia and Africa.

The method is especially common among migrant workers who send remittances to their families, but it has also been linked with financing terrorism.