More than 2,000 people were buried by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, the national disaster centre said on Monday, as the government officially asked for international help to reach communities trapped in remote villages where rescue efforts have been hampered by treacherous conditions.

The numbers of those buried around Yambali village in Enga province in the country’s north are based on estimates from local authorities which have been rising steadily since Friday’s landslide.

A UN agency put the estimated death toll at more than 670 people on Sunday.

The National Disaster Centre raised the toll again to 2,000 in a letter to the UN on Sunday that was released publicly on Monday. The landslide also caused major destruction to buildings and food gardens, it said.

“The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike,” according to the letter.

About 4,000 people were living near the affected area, CARE International Papua New Guinea (PNG) country director Justine McMahon told ABC television on Monday.

But it is difficult to get an accurate estimate of the local population as PNG’s last credible census was in 2000 and many people live in remote mountainous villages. The country recently announced a census would be conducted in 2024.

The unstable terrain, remote location and nearby tribal warfare are hampering relief efforts in Papua New Guinea.

Source: France 24

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution, urging the world body’s Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become a full UN member.

The resolution was passed during an emergency session of the assembly on Friday.

A total of 143 countries voted in favor of upgrading Palestine’s status at the world body, while nine voted against and 25 abstained.

Palestine is currently a UN non-member observer state, a status that was granted to it in 2012. An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Council and then at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

The United States, the Israeli regime’s biggest ally, has so far blocked Palestinians’ every attempt at being recognized as a full member by casting its veto against relevant resolutions.

Source: Presstv

The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial fined the former president on Tuesday for defying a gag order and warned that further violations could result in jail time.

Judge Juan Merchan held the 77-year-old Trump in contempt of court for breaching an order that he not publicly attack witnesses, jurors or court staff and their relatives.

Merchan fined Trump $1,000 each for nine specific violations of the gag order, and instructed him to remove seven “offending posts” from his Truth Social account and two from a campaign website by Tuesday afternoon.

The judge also warned the former president that he could be sent to jail if he continues to violate the gag order.

“Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” Merchan said.

The judge delivered his order before testimony resumed in Trump’s historic trial on charges of falsifying business records to pay hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels.

Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges, and his required attendance in court is limiting his time on the campaign trail less than seven months before his likely election rematch with President Joe Biden.

The Republican is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 funneled to Daniels just days ahead of the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton.

Daniels, 45, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was threatening at the time to go public with her story about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump that could have potentially derailed his White House campaign.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels and has used appearances outside the Manhattan courtroom to rail against his indictment, claiming it is a “witch hunt” brought by Democrats to torpedo his bid to recapture the White House in November.

‘Catch and kill’

Gary Farro, a former senior managing director of the now defunct First Republic Bank, took the witness stand on Tuesday after briefly testifying on Friday.

Cohen, Trump’s “fixer,” set up an account at First Republic in the name of a company called Essential Consultants to arrange for the payment to Daniels.

Cohen, who has become a vocal Trump critic, and Daniels are expected to be star prosecution witnesses during the trial.

The opening of the trial was dominated last week by testimony by a former tabloid publisher who said he suppressed potentially damaging stories about Trump.

David Pecker, 72, outlined a scheme known as “catch and kill,” which involved buying and then burying salacious stories that could have been embarrassing to the real estate tycoon and harmed his campaign.

The former National Enquirer publisher told the court he paid $30,000 to kill a story from a Trump Tower doorman peddling an apparently false claim that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock.

He said $150,000 was paid to squash a story from Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who claimed to have had a year-long affair with Trump.

The case, heard by 12 jurors and six alternates, is expected to last between six and eight weeks.

In addition, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He also faces charges in Florida of allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.

Source: AFP

Prosecutors accused Donald Trump of engaging in “criminal conspiracy and a coverup” as opening arguments began Monday in the first ever criminal trial of a former US president.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo said Trump falsified business records to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to “silence” her about a potentially politically embarrassing sexual encounter.

“This case is about a criminal conspiracy and a coverup,” Colangelo told the jury of New Yorkers in a Manhattan courtroom. “He orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.”

Trump, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, sat at the defense table, staring straight ahead as the prosecutor delivered his opening statement, shifting back and forth in his seat a little.

Before the court session began, Trump condemned the case as “election interference” designed to derail his 2024 White House bid.

“It’s a very, very sad day in America,” the 77-year-old Republican presidential candidate told reporters.

“I’m here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania, in Georgia, and lots of other places campaigning,” he said. “This is a witch hunt and it’s a shame and it comes out of Washington.”

Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges and the case poses substantial risks to him less than seven months before his election rematch with President Joe Biden.

Prosecution witnesses are expected to include Daniels and Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen.

The identities of the jury’s five women and seven men are being kept secret for their own protection.

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to pay “hush money” to Daniels to ensure an account of their alleged 2006 extramarital tryst did not get out ahead of the 2016 election.

The alleged crime is less significant than the indictments stemming from Trump’s attack on the 2020 election – which the Republican lost to Democrat Biden – and his hoarding of secret documents.

Trump could face jail time in the current case, although a fine or probation is more likely, analysts say.

Campaign trail

The trial in a dingy courtroom will keep Trump off the campaign trail for four days a week over a possibly six-to-eight-week period, while Biden hammers him from the White House and around the country.

But Trump has tried to used the heavy media attention to fire up his support base by giving regular statements outside the courtroom.

“This is going to be the beginning of probably the most sensational trial in American history,” former prosecutor Bennett Gershman, now a lecturer at Pace University, told AFP.

“Every day we’re going to be hearing testimony that’s going to be damaging to Mr Trump.”

Trump has railed against the case, particularly what he calls the “very unfair” partial gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan to prevent him from using his media presence to attack witnesses, prosecutors and relatives of court staff.

Security was tight Monday after a man set himself on fire last week outside the courthouse in an unrelated but gruesome incident.

A hearing will be held Tuesday at which Merchan will decide if Trump is already in contempt of court due to outbursts during jury selection.

The Republican’s three other criminal cases have been repeatedly delayed due to his successful strategy of challenging every step.

However, Merchan has run the New York fraud trial on a tight schedule.

Potential jurors were grilled last week by prosecutors and defense attorneys about their media habits, political donations, education and whether they have attended pro- or anti-Trump rallies.

Many potential panelists were excused after saying they could not be impartial, before lawyers and the judge whittled down the group to 12 jurors with six alternates.

A unanimous verdict will be required to convict Trump, who has been ordered to attend each day of the trial.

Source: AFP

Donald Trump’s media group said Tuesday it will launch a streaming television platform, but its shares continued to tumble on Wall Street.

The announcement came as 77-year-old former US president Trump sat through a second day of jury selection in his historic criminal trial.

No other ex-president in US history has been hauled before a criminal court and the trial in a Manhattan courthouse comes as scandal-plagued Trump is fighting to make a shock return to the White House in November.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up reports on the eve of his 2016 election victory that he had an extramarital affair with a porn star.

After a winning debut on Wall Street last month, Trump Media and Technology Group shares have suffered a bruising retreat, denting the Republican candidate’s wealth.

The company has seen its market value plummet from around $11 billion to less than $3.2 billion based on its $22.97 share price during mid-day trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq.

Shares that trade under the symbol “DJT” slid more than 12 percent during the day despite an announcement that the operator of Truth Social will add streaming television to the platform.

DJT shares had taken a hit on Monday with a regulatory filing saying Trump’s money-losing media company could issue more than 21 million more shares.

Streamed television content is expected to focus on news, religion, and “family-friendly” films and documentaries, according to the company.

“We’re excited to move forward with the next big phase for Truth Social,” chief executive Devin Nunes said in the release.

“We aim to provide a permanent home for high-quality news and entertainment that face discrimination by other channels and content delivery services.”

The first phase of the roll-out will involve adding streaming television to the Truth Social app, with a stand-alone version released in a second phase, according to the company.

Trump drew criticism during the weekend for a video posted on Truth Social that featured an image of President Joe Biden hog-tied, as if he were being kidnapped.

Biden’s reelection campaign said the post by Republican candidate Trump could lead to violence.

The Trump campaign was unapologetic, accusing Democrats of “weaponizing the justice system” against Trump.

Trump holds 57.3 percent of the company, which was successfully merged into a shell company known as Digital World Acquisition last month; equity owners in such transactions are typically required to hold the stock for six months before cashing out.

The company’s principal asset is Truth Social, the social media platform launched for the ex-president after he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook in 2021 in the wake of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Source:  AFP

Iran has launched drones at Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, appearing to mark a widely anticipated reprisal attack.

The IDF said the wave could take hours to reach Israel, a distance of 1,100 miles (1,800km).

It said Israeli forces were on high alert and “monitoring all targets”.

Iran had vowed to retaliate after an attack on its consulate in Syria on 1 April – for which it blamed Israel – killed several Iranian commanders.

Shortly before news of Iran’s drone launch, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s “defensive systems” were deployed.

“We are ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The State of Israel is strong. The IDF is strong. The public is strong.”We appreciate the US standing alongside Israel, as well as the support of Britain, France and many other countries.”

Source: BBC

Some 95,000 people have fled rampant gang violence in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince since early March, the United Nations said Friday.

Insecurity is “pushing more and more people to leave the capital to find refuge in provinces, taking the risks of passing through gang-controlled routes,” according to the International Organization for Migration.

Source: AFP

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Monday, Seoul’s military said, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea to meet top officials and attend a democracy summit.

Blinken is in Seoul for the third Summit for Democracy, an initiative of US President Joe Biden, which the South is hosting this week, and is set to meet his Korean counterpart on the sidelines for talks.

Key security allies Washington and Seoul wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises last week, prompting angry retorts and tit-for-tat drills from nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

“North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea,” Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan also confirmed the launch, with the Japan Coast Guard saying the objects appeared to have already fallen.

The launch comes just days after the annual Freedom Shield, which this year involved double the number of troops, ended Thursday. The 11 days of joint exercises were aimed at strengthening South Korean and American deterrence against the North’s nuclear and missile threats.

Pyongyang this month warned that Seoul and Washington would pay a “dear price” over the Freedom Shield drills, and later announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had guided an artillery unit it says was capable of striking the South Korean capital.

The nuclear-armed North has long condemned joint US-South Korea military drills, calling them rehearsals for an invasion. It has carried out weapons tests in the past as a response to previous joint exercises of this nature.

Monday’s ballistic missile test is the North’s second this year, after Pyongyang launched one tipped with a manoeuvrable hypersonic warhead on January 14.

Blinken landed Sunday afternoon ahead of the democracy summit, which runs from March 18 to 20 and will bring together government officials, NGOs and civil society members.

Source: AFP

Two crew members have been killed in a Houthi missile strike on a cargo ship off southern Yemen, US officials say – the first deaths the group’s attacks on merchant vessels have caused.

The Barbados-flagged True Confidence had been abandoned and was drifting with a fire on board, managers said.

It was hit in the Gulf of Aden at about 09:30 GMT, they added.

The Houthis say their attacks are to support the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In a statement, the Iran-backed group said the True Confidence’s crew had ignored warnings from Houthi naval forces.

The British embassy in Yemen said the sailors’ deaths were the “sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping” and insisted the attacks had to stop.

Six crew members were also injured, a US official told the BBC’s US partner CBS.

The attack happened about 50 nautical miles (93km) south-west of the Yemeni city of Aden, a spokesman for the ship’s owners and managers said in a statement.

Following the attack, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported on Wednesday evening that two US-led air strikes had targeted the international airport in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hudaydah.

Source: BBC