News-24 (2024)

20/03/2023

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to attendees during the National Action Network National Convention in New York, April 7, 2022.

Eduardo Munoz | Reuters

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent an email to his staff Saturday assuring them that their safety is “top priority” after former President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest over his supposedly imminent indictment.

“We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” Bragg said in the memo, which was obtained by NBC News from a senior official at the Manhattan DA’s office.

Bragg’s office has been investigating Trump’s connection with a hush-money payment made to p**n star Stormy Daniels during his first run for president in 2016. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said that he expects to be arrested Tuesday, citing leaks from the “corrupt” DA’s office. He urged his supporters to protest on his behalf.

“THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social early Saturday morning. “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump gather outside his Mar-a-Lago resort after he posted a message on his Truth Social account saying that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, and called on his supporters to protest, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. March 19, 2023.

Marco Bello | Reuters

A grand jury has been hearing testimony related to the 2016 payoff at the state Criminal Court in lower Manhattan, but no public announcements have been made about when or if Trump will be indicted. Law enforcement agencies across New York have been making security arrangements in the case that the former president is criminally charged.

Bragg’s email did not reference Trump or his comments directly, but he reassured staffers that he is “committed to maintaining a safe work environment.” The email was first reported by Politico. Bragg said his office will continue to coordinate with officials at the New York Police Department and the Office of Court Administration.

“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” Bragg wrote.

.A

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to attendees during the National Action Network National Convention in New York, April 7, 2022.Eduardo Munoz | ReutersManhattan District Attorney Alvi…

19/03/2023

All Progressive Congress’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu led the voting with a clear margin over his closest rival from the Labour Party.

The governor of Lagos has easily won re-election in low-turnout local voting, figures have shown, marking a victory for Nigeria’s ruling party just weeks after the commercial capital backed the opposition in a disputed presidential election.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party had more than 736,000 votes after votes were tallied in districts representing 95 percent of voters on Sunday.

His closest rival, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, secured 292,000 votes, according to the figures released by the INEC.

The turnout was just a small fraction of the seven million registered voters in Africa’s largest megacity, which has a population of more than 20 million people.

The Lagos election was the highest profile among races for powerful governorships in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, as well as for state assemblies across the country.

The race in Lagos had been expected to be close after opposition Labour candidate Peter Obi received the most votes in the state during last month’s disputed presidential election, which was won overall by Bola Tinubu of the APC.

Tinubu himself is a former Lagos governor, who ran the state from 1999 to 2007 and has since been seen as instrumental in picking his successors there, including Sanwo-Olu.

Obi has said he was robbed of victory by rampant fraud, and political analysts said the handling of last month’s presidential election could have discouraged some voters from participating in Saturday’s regional polls.

Some officials from the INEC who presented results in Lagos on Sunday reported some ballot boxes had been stolen, but said this was not widespread enough to affect the outcome of the vote.

Voting was postponed to Sunday at 10 polling stations in a Lagos neighbourhood following disagreements between INEC officials and voters over the location of polling units. Final results were expected later.

Governors wield wide influence in Africa’s most populous nation, and their support can help decide who becomes president.

Some governors preside over states whose annual budgets are bigger than those of some small African countries. Lagos has an annual budget of $4bn.

In northeastern Adamawa, a conservative and largely Muslim state, electoral officials were collating results after a race that could see Nigeria’s first female elected governor.

Voters were still casting ballots in two districts of oil-producing Rivers state, where the INEC failed to deliver voting materials.

All Progressive Congress’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu led the voting with a clear margin over his closest rival from the Labour Party.The governor of Lagos has easily won re-election in low-turnout local v…

19/03/2023

Watch CBS News

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to two Ukrainian regions, including the city of Mariupol. The move comes after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin last week. Ramy Inocencio reports from Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.

Not Now

Turn On

Putin makes surprise visit to occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol – CBS News Watch CBS News Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to two Ukrainian regions, including the city…

19/03/2023

Every year Iranians around the world celebrate Nowruz. The Persian new year is a two-week festival that marks the start of spring.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

19/03/2023

UBS would require public guarantees to cover legal costs and potential losses, report

Zurich, Switzerland:

UBS was up against the clock Sunday in talks to finalise a mammoth takeover of its troubled rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse and reassure investors before the markets reopen.

Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS is being urged by the authorities to get a deal over the line in a bid to avoid a wave of contagious panic on the markets Monday, according to several media reports.

The wealthy Alpine nation’s largest banks have been in urgent negotiations throughout the weekend, with the government, central bank and financial regulators all involved.

The 20 Minuten newspaper filmed members of the Swiss government, including President Alain Berset, heading into the finance ministry in Bern early Sunday, with the Swiss news agency ATS reporting that the building’s window shutters had been lowered.

Blick newspaper said UBS will buy Credit Suisse in a deal to be sealed later Sunday in Bern at a meeting featuring the government and the banks’ executives.

A merger of this scale — involving swallowing up all or part of a bank arousing growing investor unease — would normally take months. UBS will have had a few days.

However, the Swiss authorities felt they had no choice but to push UBS into overcoming its reluctance, due to the enormous pressure exerted by Switzerland’s major economic and financial partners, fearing for their own financial centres, said Blick.

“When the stock market opens on Monday, Credit Suisse could be a thing of the past,” the tabloid said.

While under Swiss rules, UBS would typically have to consult shareholders over six weeks, it could use emergency measures to skip the consultation period and a shareholder vote, the Financial Times newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

UBS would require public guarantees to cover legal costs and potential losses, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources.

‘Merger of the century’

Credit Suisse, the country’s SNB central bank and the Swiss financial watchdog FINMA all declined to comment on the negotiations when contacted by AFP.

The government did not immediately respond when contacted by AFP Sunday.

The SonntagsZeitung newspaper called it “the merger of the century”.

“The unthinkable becomes true: Credit Suisse is about to be taken over by UBS,” the weekly said.

The government, FINMA and the SNB “see no other option”, it claimed.

“The pressure from abroad had become too great — and the fear that the reeling Credit Suisse could trigger a global financial crisis,” it said.

Too big to fail?

Like UBS, Credit Suisse is one of 30 banks around the world deemed to be Global Systemically Important Banks — of such importance to the international banking system that they are deemed too big to fail.

But the market movement seemed to suggest the bank was being perceived as a weak link in the chain.

“We are now awaiting a definitive and structural solution to the problems of this bank,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Le Parisien newspaper. “We remain extremely vigilant.”

According to the FT, Credit Suisse customers withdrew 10 billion Swiss francs ($10.8 billion) in deposits in a single day late last week — a measure of how far trust in the bank has fallen.

After a turbulent week on the stock market, which forced the SNB to step in with a $54-billion lifeline, Credit Suisse was worth just over $8.7 billion by Friday evening — precious little for a bank considered one of 30 key institutions worldwide.

FINMA and the SNB said Credit Suisse “meets the capital and liquidity requirements” imposed on such banks, but mistrust remains.

Stock market plunge

Amid fears of contagion after the collapse of two US banks, Credit Suisse’s share price plunged by more than 30 percent on Wednesday to a new record low of 1.55 Swiss francs.

After recovering some ground on Thursday, its shares closed down eight percent on Friday, at 1.86 Swiss francs as the Zurich-based lender struggled to retain investor confidence.

Credit Suisse has been plagued by a series of scandals in recent years. Shares were worth 12.78 Swiss francs in February 2021.

In 2022, the bank suffered a net loss of $7.9 billion and expects a “substantial” pre-tax loss this year.

The notion of Switzerland’s biggest banks joining forces has cropped up over the years but has generally been dismissed due to competition issues and risks to the Swiss financial system’s stability.

“The Credit Suisse management, even if forced to do so by the authorities, would only choose (this option) if they have no other solution,” said David Benamou, chief investment officer of Paris-based Axiom Alternative Investments.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

UBS would require public guarantees to cover legal costs and potential losses, reportZurich, Switzerland: UBS was up against the clock Sunday in talks to finalise a mammoth …

19/03/2023

ISLAMABAD — Police in the Pakistani capital filed charges Sunday against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, 17 of his aides and scores of supporters, accusing them of terrorism and several other offenses after the ousted premier’s followers clashed with security forces in Islamabad the previous day.

For hours on Saturday, Khan’s followers clashed with police outside a court where the former prime minister was to appear in a graft case. Riot police wielded batons and fired tear gas while Khan’s supporters threw fire bombs and hurled rocks at the officers.

More than 50 officers were injured and a police checkpoint, several cars and motorcycles were torched. Police said 59 of Khan’s supporters were arrested during the violence.

Khan never actually appeared inside the court to face charges that he had sold state gifts received while in office and concealed assets.

Besides Khan, the case filed Sunday also accuses former and current lawmakers, former ministers, a former National Assembly speaker and scores of Khan’s supporters. The charges include terrorism, obstructing police officers in carrying out their tasks, attacks on police, wounding officers and threatening their lives.

The developments are the latest involving increasing violence surrounding the 70-year-old Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. Since then, the former cricket star turned Islamist politician has claimed — without offering evidence — that his ouster was illegal and a conspiracy by the government of his successor, Shahbaz Sharif, and Washington. Both Sharif and the United States have denied the allegations.

Also on Saturday, violence erupted again outside Khan’s home in the eastern city of Lahore, where officers and Khan’s supporters had clashed for two straight days in a standoff earlier last week, after police arrived in the upscale neighborhood to arrest Khan.

Amid tear gas and clashes, police stormed Khan’s residence, and later said they arrested 61 suspects and seized petrol bombs, weapons and ammunition. Khan was not at home, having traveled to Islamabad for the court appearance. After he failed to appear in court, the judge postponed that hearing until March 30.

In a recorded video message broadcast Sunday, Khan blamed police for his failure to appear in court on Saturday, saying he never left his vehicle as the police were lobbing tear gas at his convoy and supporters.

Without offering anything to back his claim, Khan said his opponents are bent on either putting him in jail or killing him, and denounced the raid on his home in Lahore as “shameful tactics, conspiracies and plans.”

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Khan of “creating all the drama just to avoid” the courts.

ISLAMABAD — Police in the Pakistani capital filed charges Sunday against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, 17 of his aides and scores of supporters, accusing them of terrorism and several oth…

19/03/2023

CNN

—

Bear lovers rejoice: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is hiring for “professional bear huggers.”

The department posted an adorable job listing on Facebook on Monday, featuring precious snaps of conservation officers cuddling baby bears.

Unfortunately, a love of bears is not the only qualification you’ll need to become a conservation officer. The job listing with the formal title of the position specifies candidates should have a bachelor’s degree in “biological sciences, police science or law enforcement, natural resources conservation, ecology, or related fields.”

Interested applicants “must have ability to hike in strenuous conditions, have the courage to crawl into a bear den, and have the trust in your coworkers to keep you safe during the process,” wrote the department.

The photos are from a research project in Northern New Mexico, according to the Facebook post. They added they “do not recommend crawling into bear dens” and “all bears were handled safely under supervision.”

“Not all law enforcement field work is this glamorous, but we would love for you to join the team where you can have the experience of a lifetime,” added the department.

Applications for the next class of conservation officer trainees are open until March 30, according to the post.

The job duties include a lot more than just bear-hugging, according to the job listing. Each conservation officer is responsible for “enforcing the game and fish laws” and also “educates the public about wildlife and wildlife management, conducts wildlife surveys, captures ‘problem animals,’ investigates wildlife damage to crops and property, assists in wildlife relocations and helps to develop new regulations.”

Black bears are New Mexico’s state animal. Estimates place the population at around 6,000 bears, according to a publication from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

CNN — Bear lovers rejoice: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is hiring for “professional bear huggers.” The department posted an adorable job listing on Facebook on Monday, featuring pre…

19/03/2023

Authorities had been scrambling to rescue Credit Suisse before financial markets reopened on Monday.

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.24bn), officials from the banks have said, in a deal designed to contain a widening crisis of confidence in global finance.

The agreement, announced late on Sunday, includes 100 billion francs ($108bn) in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse from the Swiss central bank.

“With the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, a solution has been found to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,” the Swiss central bank said.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that there was a risk that Credit Suisse could have become “illiquid, even if it remained solvent, and it was necessary for the authorities to take action”.

To enable UBS to take over Credit Suisse, the federal government is providing a loss guarantee of a maximum of 9 billion francs ($9.7bn) for a clearly defined part of the portfolio, the government said.

This will be activated if losses are actually incurred on this portfolio. In that eventuality, UBS would assume the first 5 billion francs ($5.4bn), the federal government the next 9 billion francs ($9.7bn), and UBS would assume any further losses, the government said.

Credit Suisse, a 167-year-old bank, has been the biggest name ensnared in market turmoil unleashed by the recent collapse of United States lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, forcing it to tap $54bn in central bank funding last week.

Authorities had been scrambling to rescue Credit Suisse, among the world’s largest wealth managers, before financial markets reopened on Monday.

FINMA, which said it had approved the takeover, said recent measures to stabilise itself were “not enough to restore confidence in the bank, however, and more far-reaching options were also examined”.

UBS and Credit Suisse are both in a group of the 30 global systemically important banks watched closely by regulators, and Credit Suisse’s failure would ripple throughout the entire financial system.

The announcement came in a make-or-break weekend after some rivals grew cautious in their dealings with the struggling Swiss lender, and its regulators urged it to pursue a deal with UBS.

The two banks’ fortunes have diverged sharply over the past year. UBS earned $7.6bn in profit in 2022, while Credit Suisse lost $7.9bn. Credit Suisse’s shares are down 74 percent from a year ago, while UBS’s are relatively flat.

#3.24bn

Authorities had been scrambling to rescue Credit Suisse before financial markets reopened on Monday.Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.2…

19/03/2023

Rising food prices mean Egyptians are struggling to put food on the table for their families.

19/03/2023

NPR’s Pien Huang speaks with Joshua Yaffa, author of the book Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia, about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

NPR’s Pien Huang speaks with Joshua Yaffa, author of the book Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia, about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to M…

19/03/2023

Nithyananda is wanted in India on several charges of r**e and sexual arrest.

New Delhi:

Self-styled godman and fugitive r**e accused Nithyananda’s so-called country ‘Kailasa’ today released a statement after US media reports claimed that over 30 US cities were allegedly conned by “United States of Kailasa” in a “sister-city” scam.

Issuing a press release on Twitter, Nithyananda responded to a US reporter after the “sister city” scam emerged and answered theories related to Kailasa’s existence and charges against him.

“We are a revival of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilizational nation and operate through a group of NGOs, recognised by the United Nations, operating from multiple countries across the world,” the statement read.

KAILASA’s Press Releases: The Press Secretary office of Holy See of the Hindusim Responds to CBS New York Reporter, Ali Bauman’s Inquiry

Q: Does Kailasa exist? If so, where is it located and how long has Kailasa been a nation?

A: We are a revival of the ancient… https://t.co/F4hbMVVwhspic.twitter.com/LGCrBaOGjR

— KAILASA’s SPH Nithyananda () March 18, 2023

Nithyanand said, “Kailasa was established much in the spirit of a country like the Sovereign Order of Malta, a borderless service-oriented nation.”

The Sovereign Order of Malta is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilisations and has diplomatic relations with over 110 nations, and has a permanent observer status in the United Nations.

Though photos and videos of Kailasa’s representatives at the UN meeting in Geneva went viral, but they are not recognised by the global body.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights responded to Kailasa’s participation and said registration for such public events is open to NGOs and the general public.

Nithyananda calls himself the “reviver of Kailasa”, “the Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism, and claims he has been initiated, trained, and anointed by competent traditional Hindu authorities.”

According to the press release, “He was recognised at a young age as an incarnation as per Hinduism, much like how the Dalai Lama was recognised.”

Nithyananda is wanted in India on several charges of r**e and sexual arrest – allegations he has claimed are “absolutely false”. In his statement, he cited human rights advocates and the world-renowned Queen’s Council from the UK, Geoffrey Robertson.

“The report about the “persecution arises more generally from the demonization of their leader and guru by the media and the state government officials as a result of false sexual abuse charges…amounting to an abuse of power,” Nithyananda quoted Mr Robertson as saying.

The self-styled godman also claimed he was proven innocent by a California Court in 2013, and also mentioned Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which says “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.

The r**e-accused fugitive also claimed a threat to his life as the behind moving to a safe place.

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Nithyananda is wanted in India on several charges of r**e and sexual arrest.New Delhi: Self-styled godman and fugitive r**e accused Nithyananda’s so-called country & #8…

19/03/2023

PARIS — A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. It’s both a reference to the trash going uncollected with Paris sanitation workers on strike — and to what many French people think about their leader.

Macron had hoped his push to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 would cement his legacy as the president who transformed France’s economy for the 21st century. Instead, he finds his leadership contested, both in parliament and on the streets of major cities.

His brazen move to force a pension reform bill through without a vote has infuriated the political opposition and could hamper his government’s ability to pass legislation for the remaining four years of his term.

Demonstrators hoisted the parody photo at protests after Macron chose at the last minute Thursday to invoke the government’s constitutional power to pass the bill without a vote at the National Assembly.

In his first public comment on the issue since then, the 45-year-old leader expressed his wish for the bill to “reach the end of its democratic path in an atmosphere of respect for everyone,” according to a statement Sunday from his office provided to The Associated Press.

Since becoming president in 2017, Macron often has been accused of arrogance and being out of touch. Perceived as “the president of the rich,” he stirred resentment for telling a jobless man he only needed to “cross the street” to find work and by suggesting some French workers were “lazy.”

Now, Macron’s government has alienated citizens “for a long time” to come by using the special authority it has under Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to impose a widely unpopular change, said Brice Teinturier, deputy director general of the Ipsos poll institute.

He said the situation’s only winners are far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party, “which continues its strategy of both ‘getting respectable’ and opposing Macron,” and France’s labor unions. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the country’s last two presidential elections.

As the garbage piles get bigger and the smell from them worse, many people in Paris blame Macron, not the striking workers.

Macron repeatedly said he was convinced the French retirement system needed modifying to keep it financed. He says other proposed options, like increasing the already heavy tax burden, would push investors away, and that decreasing the pensions of current retirees was not a realistic alternative.

The public displays of displeasure may weigh heavily on his future decisions. The spontaneous, sometimes violent protests that erupted in Paris and across the country in recent days have contrasted with the largely peaceful demonstrations and strikes previously organized by France’s major unions.

Macron’s reelection to a second term last April bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. He campaigned on a pro-business agenda, pledging to address the pension issue and saying the French must “work longer.”

In June, Macron’s centrist alliance lost its majority in the lower house of parliament, though it still holds more seats than other political parties. He said at the time that his government wanted to “legislate in a different way,” based on compromises with a range of political groups.

Since then, conservative lawmakers have agreed to support some bills that fit with their own policies. But tensions over the pension plan, and widespread lack of trust among ideologically diverse parties, may end attempts at seeking compromise.

Macron’s political opponents in the National Assembly filed two no-confidence motions Friday against the government of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Government officials are hoping to survive a vote on the motions set for Monday because the opposition is divided, with many Republicans expected not to support it.

If a motion passes, however, it would be a big blow for Macron: the pension bill would be rejected and his Cabinet would have to resign. In that case, the president would need to appoint a new Cabinet and find his ability to get legislation passed weakened.

Macron notably hopes to propose new measures designed to bring France’s unemployment rate down to 5%, from 7.2% now, by the end of his second and final term.

If the no-confidence motions fail, Macron could enact the higher retirement age but try to appease his critics with a government reshuffle.

Either way, Macron would keep his job until his term runs out in 2027, and retain substantial powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he can make decisions about France’s support for Ukraine and other global issues without parliamentary approval.

France’s strong presidential powers are a legacy from Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s desire to have a stable political system for the Fifth Republic he established in 1958.

Another option in the hands of the president is to dissolve the National Assembly and call for an early parliamentary election.

That scenario appears unlikely for now, since the unpopularity of the pension plan means Macron’s alliance would be unlikely to secure a majority of seats. And if another party won, he would have to appoint a prime minister from the majority faction, empowering the government to implement policies that diverge from the president’s priorities.

Le Pen said she would welcome a dissolution.

And Mathilde Panot, a lawmaker from the leftist Nupes coalition, said with sarcasm Thursday that it was a “very good” idea for Macron to disband the Assembly and trigger an election.

“I believe it would be a good occasion for the country to reaffirm that yes, they want the retirement age down at 60,” Panot said. “The Nupes is always available to govern.”

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the French government at https://apnews.com/hub/france-government

PARIS — A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. It’s both a reference to the trash going uncollected …

News-24

20/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

19/03/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share