While Trump touts his debate performance, allies, donors and advisers lament it

While Trump touts his debate performance, allies, donors and advisers lament it
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during the ABC News presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Updated 12 September 2024
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While Trump touts his debate performance, allies, donors and advisers lament it

While Trump touts his debate performance, allies, donors and advisers lament it
  • “I think it was one of my better debates, maybe my best debate,” Trump told the “Fox & Friends” program
  • “My honest opinion is that Trump underperformed and she overperformed,” said donor Bill Bean, a commercial real estate investor in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Trump ally, says the former president had failed to stay focused and lost chances to tout his record

Some Republican officials, donors and advisers said Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, had botched his debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, although Trump himself praised his performance.
“I think it was one of my better debates, maybe my best debate,” Trump told the “Fox & Friends” program on Wednesday, adding that he was not sure whether to do another one. “I’d be less inclined ... because we had a great night.”
Harris, 59, put Trump, 78, president from 2017-2021, on the defensive in a combative presidential debate on Tuesday with a stream of attacks on his fitness for office and his myriad legal woes. The election takes place on Nov. 5.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Trump ally, was one of the few party leaders to publicly say Trump’s performance was poor.
“A missed opportunity,” Graham told reporters of Trump’s debate performance, adding that the former president had failed to stay focused and lost chances to tout his record.




Sen. Lindsey Graham, center, and other Trump allies line up to speak to FOX News host Sean Hannity in the spin room after Tuesday's presidential debate in Philadelphia. (AP)

Chris Christie, a former Trump ally-turned-critic who ran against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said Harris was “exquisitely” prepared whereas Trump was not.
“Whoever did debate prep for Donald Trump should be fired. He was not good tonight at all,” Christie, who helped Trump with debate preparation in the 2016 election cycle, said on ABC News.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment on whether there would be a shake-up of Trump’s debate team.
With eight weeks to go before the election, and days until early voting starts in some states, the debate offered a rare head-to-head opportunity to face tens of millions of TV viewers.
Their ABC News debate attracted 67.1 million television viewers, according to Nielsen data, topping the roughly 51 million people who watched Trump debate then-candidate President Joe Biden in June.

The number does not capture the full extent of online viewing, which has grown in popularity as traditional TV audiences decline.
Six Republican donors and three Trump advisers, all but one asking to remain anonymous to speak freely, also told Reuters they thought Harris had won the debate largely because Trump was unable to stay on message.
Several brought up, with dismay, Trump’s amplification of a false online claim that numerous Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents’ pets.
Two of Trump’s advisers said they doubted the debate would move the needle in opinion polling.
In Reuters interviews with 10 undecided voters, six said after the debate they would now either vote for Trump or were leaning toward backing him. Three said they would now back Harris and one was still unsure how he would vote.
Still, in a sign of confidence in the debate’s outcome, Harris’ campaign challenged Trump to a second round in October.
Two of the six donors said they were not sure whether Trump should debate her again, with one saying it would hinge on whether his handlers were confident he could be more focused in a second round. Two other donors, however, said they thought Trump needed a second debate in order to regain momentum.
“My honest opinion is that Trump underperformed and she overperformed,” said donor Bill Bean, a commercial real estate investor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the prospect of a second debate, Bean said: “I’d like to see one.”


Russian man jailed for burning Qur’an charged with treason

Russian man jailed for burning Qur’an charged with treason
Updated 6 sec ago
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Russian man jailed for burning Qur’an charged with treason

Russian man jailed for burning Qur’an charged with treason
  • Russia’s prosecutor general’s office said that 20-year-old Nikita Zhuravel was accused of sending footage of a freight train carrying warplanes
MOSCOW: A Russian man jailed in February for burning the Qur’an has been charged with treason by prosecutors who accuse him of passing video footage of military movements to Ukraine.
In a statement, Russia’s prosecutor general’s office said that 20-year-old Nikita Zhuravel was accused of sending footage of a freight train carrying warplanes, and information about the movements of a car linked to a Russian military base to a representative of Ukrainian intelligence.
It said Zhuravel had volunteered himself to send the Ukrainian intelligence officer the data.
Reuters was not immediately able to identify a lawyer representing Zhuravel in the treason case.
Zhuravel is serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence after being convicted under Russia’s law against offending religious believers, for publicly burning a Qur’an in his home city of Volgograd.
His case drew international attention last year when Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov published a video in which his son Adam was shown beating and kicking the defendant while he was in prison awaiting trial.
Russian investigators had earlier transferred his case to Chechnya. The Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes, said this was because they received many messages from residents of the heavily Muslim region asking to be designated injured parties.

Armed assailants kill four in attack on Mexico rehab center

Armed assailants kill four in attack on Mexico rehab center
Updated 56 min 37 sec ago
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Armed assailants kill four in attack on Mexico rehab center

Armed assailants kill four in attack on Mexico rehab center
  • The attack took place in Salamanca in the central state of Guanajuato on Tuesday night
  • Guanajuato is Mexico’s most violent state, according to official homicide statistics

CELAYA, Mexico: Armed assailants attacked a drug rehabilitation center in Mexico, killing four people and wounding five others, local authorities said Wednesday.
The attack took place in Salamanca in the central state of Guanajuato on Tuesday night, the municipal government said in a statement.
Police and the National Guard “initiated a chase to find those responsible,” but the attackers escaped by throwing down metal spikes to puncture the tires of security forces in pursuit, it said.
Police said three bodies of those killed were found inside the rehab center while a fourth was found in the street.
No suspects have been arrested yet.
Disputes between drug gangs have led to rehab centers being targeted in several attacks in Mexico.
Authorities say some rehab centers are used as safe havens by suspected members of criminal groups, who are attacked by their rivals when found.
Guanajuato is Mexico’s most violent state, according to official homicide statistics, due to fighting between the local Santa Rosa de Lima cartel and the powerful Jalisco New Generation.
Mexico has recorded more than 450,000 murders since December 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug operation was launched.


Six migrants including Pakistanis shot dead by Mexican troops near Guatemalan border

Six migrants including Pakistanis shot dead by Mexican troops near Guatemalan border
Updated 03 October 2024
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Six migrants including Pakistanis shot dead by Mexican troops near Guatemalan border

Six migrants including Pakistanis shot dead by Mexican troops near Guatemalan border
  • Soldiers opened fire on truck carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan, one other country
  • Soldiers then approached the truck and found four of the migrants dead and 12 wounded

MEXICO CITY: Six international migrants are dead after Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying a group near the border with Guatemala, Mexico’s Defense Department said Wednesday.

The department said in a statement that soldiers claimed they heard shots as the trucks and two other vehicles approached their position late Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas, near the town of Huixtla.

Two soldiers opened fire on the truck, which was carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan and at least one other country. Soldiers then approached the truck and found four of the migrants dead, and 12 wounded.

Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. There was no immediate information on the condition of the other 10.

Local prosecutors confirmed all the victims died of gunshot wounds. The Defense Department did not say whether the migrants died as a result of army fire, or whether any weapons were found in the truck.

There were 17 other migrants in the truck who were unharmed. The vehicle was carrying a total of 33 migrants. The area is common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks.

The department said the two soldiers who opened fire were relieved of duty pending investigations. In Mexico, any incident involving civilians is subject to civilian prosecution, but soldiers can also face military courts martial for those offenses.

It is not the first time Mexican forces have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the area, which is also the object of turf battles between warring drug cartels.

In the same area in 2021, the quasi-military National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four.

Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist who has frequently accompanied caravans of migrants in that area of Chiapas, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.

“It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”

The UN agency for refugees in Mexico, known as the ACNUR, wrote that it “expresses its concern about the events in Chiapas,” noting “people in migration are exposed to great risks during their journey, and that is why it is indispensable they have legal means of access, travel, and integration to avoid tragedies like these.”

If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office Tuesday.

Sheinbaum has followed the lead of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies , airports, trains and construction projects.


Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land

Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
Updated 03 October 2024
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Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land

Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
  • Krathon packs sustained wind speeds of 126 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 162kph
  • Across Taiwan, nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated as of Thursday

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan shut down schools and offices for a second day Thursday as Typhoon Krathon pounded the island before its expected landfall, leaving two dead and more than 100 injured.
Krathon, packing sustained wind speeds of 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 162 kph — was 30 kilometers southwest of southern Kaohsiung at 10:00 am (0200 GMT), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
“The center of the typhoon is forecast to make landfall around noon, near southern Tainan, Kaohsiung or Pingtung. The time has been delayed as it’s moving very slowly,” forecaster Chang Chun-yao said.
While CWA chief Cheng Chia-ping said Wednesday that the typhoon was expected to weaken rapidly after landing, residents of Kaohsiung were urged to take shelter.
“There will be winds of destructive force caused by typhoon in this area. Take shelter ASAP,” the CWA said in a warning sent three times to residents’ mobile phones Thursday.
Kaohsiung’s mayor, Chen Chi-mai, told reporters the city was experiencing “the strongest winds” and that he expected the typhoon to make landfall by 1 pm.
“We urge residents not to go out unless necessary,” he said. “So far, Kaohsiung has recorded 356 disaster cases, mostly falling trees and advertising signs.”
Torrential rain and powerful winds unleashed on the island have already left at least two people dead, two missing and 123 injured, said the National Fire Agency.
A 70-year-old man was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after he fell while trimming trees in eastern Hualien county and died in hospital the next day.
And a 66-year-old man, hospitalized in nearby Taitung on Monday after his truck hit a huge rock that had fallen onto the road, also died Wednesday.
Krathon has disrupted traffic, causing all domestic flights to be suspended for a second day and the cancelation of around 240 international flights.
Across Taiwan, nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated as of Thursday, according to the interior ministry.
Krathon has caused mudslides and flooding, and damaged houses and roads in some areas as it slowly moves toward Taiwan, officials and reports said.
In Kaohsiung, strong gusts swept three motorcyclists to the ground as they were driving, while swaying buildings, shattering windows in some buildings and uprooting trees.
Powerful waves pounded the coast of nearby Pingtung county, with some seawater spilling onto a road and causing it to collapse in two places, TV footage showed.
In New Taipei city in the island’s north, where rain and wind was intensifying, a mudslide sent a large rock tumbling down onto a temple near a slope, partially smashing its roof, SET TV reported.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
In July, Gaemi became the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in eight years, killing at least 10 people, injuring hundreds, and triggering widespread flooding in Kaohsiung.
The storm was approaching Taiwan after slamming into a remote group of Philippine islands, where it cut power and communications and damaged “many” houses, according to a local mayor.


Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts
Updated 03 October 2024
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Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts
  • Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran had pleaded guilty last week to the charges, in a rare criminal case involving a minister in the Asian financial hub
  • Singapore's ministers are among the world’s best-paid and Iswaran's indictment is an embarrassment in a nation known for clean governance

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A former Singaporean cabinet minister was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of receiving illegal gifts, in a rare criminal case involving a minister in the Asian financial hub.
Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran had pleaded guilty last week to one count of obstructing justice and four of accepting gifts from people with whom he had official business. He was the first minister to be charged and imprisoned in nearly half a century.
Justice Vincent Hoong, in his ruling, said holders of high office “must be expected to avoid any perception that they are susceptible to influence by pecuniary benefits,” according to Channel News Asia.
“I am of the view it is appropriate to impose a sentence in excess of both parties’ positions,” Hoong was quoted as saying.
The defense had asked for no more than eight weeks in prison, while the prosecution had pushed for six to seven months imprisonment.
Iswaran, 62, was initially charged with 35 counts, but prosecutors proceeded with only five, while reducing two counts of corruption to receiving illegal gifts. Prosecutors said they will apply for the remaining 30 charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing. No reasons were given for the move.
Iswaran received gifts worth over 74,000 Singapore dollars ($57,000) from Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based Malaysian property tycoon, and businessperson Lum Kok Seng. The gifts included tickets to Singapore’s Formula 1 race, wine and whisky and a luxury Brompton bike. Ong owns the right to the local F1 race, and Iswaran was chair of and later adviser to the Grand Prix’s steering committee.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said it will decide whether to charge Ong and Lum after the case against Iswaran has been resolved.
Singapore ‘s ministers are among the world’s best-paid. Although the amount involved in Iswaran’s case appeared to be relatively minor, his indictment is an embarrassment to the ruling People’s Action Party, which prides itself on a clean image.
The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessperson. Another Cabinet minister was investigated for graft in 1986, but died before charges were filed.
Iswaran had resigned just before he was charged. His trial comes just over four months after Singapore installed new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after Lee Hsien Loong stepped down after 20 years.