Syria’s Foreign Minister and deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Muallem has died at the age of 79.

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Muallem died at dawn on Monday.

According to the report, he would be laid to rest later on Monday in Damascus.

There were no details on the cause of his death, but Syria’s top diplomat had for years been suffering from a heart condition.

“He was known for his honorable patriotic positions,” the government said in a statement.

According to a source close to the Damascus government, it is widely expected his deputy, Faisal Mekdad, will succeed him as foreign minister.

Muallem first took on the portfolio of the foreign minister in 2006. He was also designated deputy prime minister in 2012.

The veteran diplomat held a succession of top diplomatic posts, including ambassador to the United States.

In his last statements, Muallem denounced the persisting and unilateral economic sanctions against the Syrian nation, saying on October 25 that the sanctions have deteriorated the economic situation, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the globe. 

He also condemned the Western role in setting conditions and fabricating flimsy pretexts to halt the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, slamming the West for politicizing the purely humanitarian issue and its use as a card for advancing their political agendas.

Some 5.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee abroad as refugees, mostly to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

Moreover, one million Syrian children have been born as refugees ever since the foreign-backed militancy began in their country back in March 2011.

Syria’s top diplomat repeatedly slammed the US role in the conflict that plagued his country.

In August 2012, Muallem said Washington was “the major player against Syria” in the war, noting that the US was supporting terrorism in Syria in spite of its claims to be fighting it.

He also said in his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 that “tens of thousands of foreign terrorist fighters have been brought to Syria from more than a hundred countries, with the support and cover of States that are known to all”, in an apparent reference to the US and Turkey, who maintain an illegal military presence in northern Syria.

Muallem also warned that the Western claims of alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government served as a pretext to launch a military campaign against his country.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding the Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Government forces have already managed to undo militant gains across the country and bring back almost all of Syrian soil under control.

Source: Presstv

Shortly after comparing US intelligence agencies to Nazis, Donald Trump tried to mend fences on his first full day as president.

On Jan. 21, 2017, standing before a marble wall at CIA headquarters honoring officers who died in service, Trump pledged “so much backing” before delivering a campaign-style speech inflating his inauguration attendance and attacking the “dishonest media.”

His use of the memorial as a prop marked the start of a stormy relationship with his spy services in which Trump denigrated their leaders, rejected their findings, appointed loyalists to replace top officials who disagreed with him and condoned using government secrets to attack political opponents.

Now, President-elect Joe Biden and his picks to lead the spy agencies must fix the damage: rebuilding both trust and morale within the agencies and their relations with Congress and the White House, said current and former US officials.

Source: Reuters

The former president of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, has died at the age of 73, according to media reports on Thursday.

The former leader who seized power twice via military coups was admitted to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana’s capital, Accra, last week after suffering from a brief illness, state-owned newspaper Daily Graphic reported on its website.

Rawlings was born in Accra in June 1947, to a Ghanaian mother and a Scottish father.

He came to global prominence in 1979 when, as an army lieutenant, he ousted General Frederick Akuffo as president.

Rawlings relinquished power soon after, handing over to civilian rule, but orchestrated another coup two years later, citing corruption and weak leadership.

From 1981 to 1993, Rawlings ruled as chairman of a joint military-civilian government. In 1992 he was elected president under a new constitution, fully assuming the role the following year before serving two terms.

John Kufour succeeded Rawlings as Ghanaian president in 2001.

Sources: jsi/msh (Reuters)

President Donald Trump never admits defeat. But he faces a stark choice now that Democrat Joe Biden has won the White House: Concede graciously for the sake of the nation or don’t — and get evicted anyway.

After nearly four tortured days of counting yielded a victory for Biden, Trump was still insisting the race was not over. He threw out baseless allegations that the election wasn’t fair and “illegal” votes were counted, promised a flurry of legal action and fired off all-caps tweets falsely insisting he’d “WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT.”

While some in his circle were nudging Trump to concede graciously, many of his Republican allies, including on Capitol Hill, were egging him on or giving him space to process his loss — at least for the time being.

“Trump has not lost,” declared South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” rejecting the reality of the situation. “Do not concede, Mr. President. Fight hard,” he urged.

Republicans ‘very disappointed’ after Biden win

Trump is not expected to formally concede, according to people close to him, but is likely to grudgingly vacate the White House at the end of his term. His ongoing efforts to paint the election as unfair are seen both as an effort to soothe a bruised ego and to show his loyal base of supporters that he is still fighting. That could be key to keeping them energized for what comes next.

“He intends to fight,” Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said as it was becoming clear that the president was headed for defeat.

Would Trump ever concede? “I doubt it,” said Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump in July. Stone asserted that Biden, as a result, will have “a cloud over his presidency with half the people in the country believing that he was illegitimately elected.”

Allies suggested that if Trump wants to launch a media empire in coming years, he has an incentive to prolong the drama. So, too, if he intends to keep the door open to a possible 2024 comeback — he would be only a year older than Biden is now.

Trump’s allies egg him on

There are many in his inner circle egging him on, including his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor has been promising to provide the president with evidence of voter fraud but has produced little, including during a press conference he held Saturday in the parking lot of a small Philadelphia landscaping company next to an adult bookstore.

Trump’s adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have also urged their father to keep fighting and challenged Republicans to stand with them, as have congressional allies like Graham.

“What I would tell President Trump is: Don’t give up. My advice is do not concede,” said Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona in a podcast interview. “Let’s fight this thing through. It is too important to give up.”

Some in the president’s orbit have been nervously looking toward Capitol Hill for signs of a Republican defection. But so far, most seemed to be giving him time.

“I look forward to the president dealing with this however he needs to deal with it,” Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” Still, he said it was time for Trump “to turn this discussion over to his lawyers, time for the lawyers to make the case that they have, both in court and to the American people, and then we’re going to have to deal with those facts as they’re presented. That has to happen and then we move forward.”

“At this point, we do not know who has prevailed in the election,” said Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, telling Fox News he believes Trump “still has a path to victory.”

Other political allies and White House officials, however, have pressed Trump to change his tone and commit to a smooth transition. They’ve emphasized to him that history will be a harsh judge of any action he takes that is seen as undermining his successor. And they have advised him to deliver a speech in the coming week pledging to support the transition.

Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has told others that he is among those who have urged the president to accept the outcome of the race — even if Trump won’t come to terms with how it was reached.

At Fox News, where prime-time hosts wield enormous influence over Trump, Laura Ingraham gave voice to the president’s belief that the election had been unfair, while also pleading with him to keep his legacy in mind — and preserve his status as a GOP kingmaker — by gracefully leaving office.

“President Trump’s legacy will only become more significant if he focuses on moving the country forward,” she said Thursday.

This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen Trump aides and allies, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.

That the peaceful transfer of power was even in doubt reflected the norm-shattering habits of the now-lame duck president, who even in victory never admitted that he had lost the popular vote in 2016.

Most aides believed the president would take the weekend to decide on a plan, which will most certainly involve more legal action. But some aides believe the legal skirmishes are more about putting up the appearance of a fight than producing results.

There were some indications Trump was moving in a less contentious direction, even as he continued to angrily complain to aides, reviving old grievances about the Russia investigation that began under President Barack Obama.

In a statement Friday, Trump suggested he would avail himself of every avenue under the law to challenge the election’s result. But allies interpreted it as a begrudging acknowledgement of the likely outcome.

“We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government,” he said Trump said. “I will never give up fighting for you and our nation.”

On Saturday, the White House added that the president “will accept the results of a free and fair election” and that the administration “is following all statutory requirements.”

Still, there were concerns that Trump’s rhetoric would inflame tensions in a nation that was already bitterly divided before the election. Isolated scuffles were reported near tabulation centers in Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Pro-Trump protesters — some of them openly carrying rifles and handguns — have rallied outside tallying facilities in several cities around the country, responding to Trump’s groundless accusations that the Democrats were trying to steal the White House.

Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have bombarded supporters with impassioned pleas for cash, raking in tens of millions of dollars since Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the money was earmarked to retire campaign debt, but the rest could be used to keep up an aggressive public campaign to continue to undermine faith in the election outcome.

Biden, meanwhile, has called on the country to come together.

“For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of times myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance,” he said in his Saturday night victory speech.

Trump, whose voluminous Twitter account seems to provide an apt entry for any occasion, offered this advice in 2016: “Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: “In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity,” So true!”

Source: AP

Democratic candidate Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States, according to the Associated Press and other US media projections.

The Associated Press and other US media, including CNN and Fox News, announced that Joe Biden had been elected 46th president of the United States after projections showed he would win Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania – giving him at least 290 electoral votes and surpassing the 270 needed to win.

“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” Biden said in a statement shortly after his win was projected.

Trump accused Biden of “rushing to falsely pose” as the winner, adding: “The simple fact is this election is far from over.” He said his campaign would begin challenging the results in court next week.

Biden had earlier called for patience as vote counting dragged on, assuring supporters, “We’re going to win this race.” Results have yet to be called for Alaska, North Carolina and Georgia, which is doing a recount.

America saw its highest voter turnout in a century, with more than 100 million votes cast even before Election Day. But the results were slowed, in part, by the unprecedented number of mail-in ballots this year due to the coronavirus. 

In congressional races, Democrats are set to retain their majority in the House albeit with a slimmer margin. Republicans appear poised to hold on to their majority in the Senate but January run-offs could further shift the balance.

Source: France 24

Supporters of US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, have again staged protest rallies in Philadelphia and other cities across the United States over the integrity of the presidential election.

The protests were held on Thursday as ballot counting dragged on in a number of states that will decide the winner of the nail-biter election, Reuters reported.

Both groups appeared outside a vote-counting center in Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania, as the result of the election hung in the balance and tensions ran high.

The Trump and Biden campaigns see the state’s 20 electoral votes as essential to clinch victory. Trump is leading Biden.

Trump supporters held Trump-Mike Pence flags and signs saying: “Vote stops on Election Day” and “Sorry, polls are closed.”

Across the street Biden supporters chanted Count Every Vote. They believed that a complete tally would show the former Democratic vice president had beaten the Republican incumbent president.

“We can’t allow the ballot counters to be intimidated,” said Bob Posuney, a 70-year-old Biden-supporting retired social worker with a “count every vote” T-shirt.

In Harrisburg, a number of protesters gathered on the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building on Thursday afternoon as part of a “Stop the Steal” rally organized by Trump supporters.

Some carried Trump signs and others American flags.

“This is not a rally supporting a particular candidate,” conservative activist Scott Presler said at the rally. “This is a rally fighting for two things: truth and justice.”

Republican US Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio told Trump supporters that he was concerned about ballots that arrived without a clear postmark.

“The administration wants to count every legal vote, every legitimate ballot,” Jordan said in an interview. “This is the closest election we’ve maybe ever had. You don’t want ballots that arrived after the Election Day with an indistinguishable postmark.”

On Wednesday, a few demonstrations led to clashes with police with some protesters arrested.

The demonstrations were triggered in part by Trump’s comments following the Election Day. He demanded that vote counting stop and made claims about voter fraud.

Trump campaign loses legal fights in Georgia and Michigan

Trump’s campaign lost court rulings in the battleground states of Georgia and Michigan on Thursday, but it vowed to challenge voting irregularities in Nevada, according to Reuters.

In the Georgia case, the campaign alleged that dozens of late-arriving ballots were mixed with on-time ballots. In Michigan, it had sought to stop votes from being counted.

Judge James Bass, a superior court judge in Georgia, stated that there was “no evidence” that the ballots in question were invalid. In the Michigan case, Judge Cynthia Stephens said: “I have no basis to find that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”

At a news conference in Las Vegas on Thursday,

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt and other Trump campaign surrogates alleged that mass voting irregularities took place in Nevada.

“We believe that there are dead voters that have been counted. We are also confident that there are thousands of people whose votes have been counted that have moved out of Clark County during the pandemic,” Laxalt said.

He said a lawsuit would be filed in federal court to ask the judge to “stop the counting of improper votes.”

Source:Presstv

Joe Biden leads US President Donald Trump by 50 electoral votes, closing in on the magic number of 270 – and with it the keys to the White House. The Trump campaign has mounted legal challenges, with votes still being counted and five states in play.

Five states undecided: Biden leads in Arizona and Nevada, Trump in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Biden has won Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) and Michigan (16 votes), according to AP.

Trump suing to stop vote counting in Pennsylvania, has announced similar lawsuit in Michigan and seeking Wisconsin recount.

Trump has predicted a “big win”, claiming – without evidence – that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.

Biden has called for patience, saying he is “on track” to win the White House race.

America set for its highest voter turnout in over a century, with more than 100 million votes cast before Election Day.

Biden currently has 264 electoral votes against Trump’s 214.

Source: France 24

Algeria’s president was transferred from hospital in Algiers to Germany on Wednesday, officials said, days after the 74-year-old went into self-isolation following reports of suspected coronavirus cases among his aides.

“The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune was transferred… to Germany for in-depth medical examinations on the recommendation of medical staff,” a statement from the presidency said.

The transfer comes after officials said Saturday that Tebboune had “voluntarily” gone into self-isolation for five days amid reports several officials in the presidency and government had contracted the Covid-19 disease.

On Tuesday, Tebboune, a heavy smoker, was admitted into a “specialised care unit” in a military hospital in Algeria’s capital.

The presidency said at the time that his “state of health does not raise any concern”, but gave no further details.

On Wednesday, Tebboune had been expected to inaugurate the prayer hall of the new Grand Mosque in Algiers, the third largest in the world.

The president’s hospitalisation also comes ahead of a referendum on November 1 on constitutional reforms that the government hopes will satisfy a protest movement. The vote is a flagship initiative of Tebboune.

Algeria has seen a resurgence in novel coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

Over 57,000 cases have been recorded in the country of 44 million, including more than 1,940 deaths.

(AFP)

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate handed President Donald Trump a major pre-election political victory on Monday by confirming his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, with the White House planning a celebratory event afterward.

The Senate voted 52-48, with Democrats unified in opposing Barrett’s confirmation, which creates a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court. One Republican, Susan Collins, voted against the confirmation.

The ceremony planned at the White House comes a month after a similar event was linked to a Covid-19 outbreak that preceded Trump’s own infection. Barrett will succeed liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month.

Source: Reuters