International
Georgia Election Racketeering Case: Donald Trump Set To Be Arrested
Donald Trump is to surrender on racketeering charges and likely have his mugshot taken at a Georgia jail on Thursday, setting the stage for a fourth criminal trial next year as he bids to reclaim the White House.
The 77-year-old former president will be arrested at Atlanta’s notorious Fulton County Jail, accused of conspiring with 18 codefendants to try to overturn the 2020 election result in the key southern state.
The booking of the billionaire real estate tycoon in his fourth and final indictment sets up a year of unprecedented courtroom drama as he tries to balance appearing in the dock with hitting the campaign trail.
The arrest comes just hours after Trump spurned a televised primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — all of whom lag well behind him in the polls.
He managed to steal the spotlight though as the focus of questions, with all but two of the candidates saying they would support Trump as the party’s nominee even if he were convicted in any of the cases.
During a rambling pre-recorded interview with former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson — which aired on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the same time as the debate — Trump dismissed the four criminal indictments filed against him as “nonsense.”
He said the Justice Department had been “weaponized” under Democratic President Joe Biden to hamstring his White House bid.
A tight security perimeter has been set up ahead of Trump’s arrival at the Fulton County Jail, an overcrowded facility that is under investigation by the Justice Department for a slew of inmate deaths and deplorable living conditions.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who brought the sweeping racketeering case, set a deadline of noon (1600 GMT) on Friday for the 19 defendants to surrender.
‘Proudly Be Arrested’
An exact time has not been given for Trump’s arrival, but the former president said in a post on his Truth Social platform it would be Thursday afternoon.
“NOBODY HAS EVER FOUGHT FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY LIKE PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” he posted, using all uppercase letters, adding he will “PROUDLY BE ARRESTED.”
Trump was able to dodge the humiliation of having a mugshot taken during his previous arrests this year: in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss.
But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said standard procedure in Georgia is for a defendant to have a mugshot taken before they are released on bond — already set at $200,000 in Trump’s case.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal lawyer when he was in the White House and vigorously pushed the false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election, was booked in the case on Wednesday.
Also facing charges in Georgia are Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff, and John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden ones.
Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges. The four trials will come during the Republican primary season, which begins in January, and at the height of the campaign for the November 2024 presidential vote.
Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a January 2024 start date for Trump’s trial in Washington on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, a campaign of lies that culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Trump’s attorneys have countered with an April 2026 start date — well after the 2024 election.
Georgia prosecutors want the racketeering case to begin in March 2024, the same month Trump is scheduled to go on trial in New York on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election.
The Florida case, in which Trump is accused of taking secret government documents as he left the White House and refusing to return them, is scheduled to begin in May.
AFP
…..As court Orders Return of Seized Oil Vessel
The Supreme Court has nullified the Court of Appeal’s ruling that permitted the seizure of an oil vessel belonging to General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) to settle a contractual dispute with First Bank of Nigeria (FBN).
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court ordered the immediate return of the seized vessel and the proceeds from the sale of its contents to GHL, its rightful owner.
The Supreme Court dismissed the case instituted by FBN, declaring that the dispute was purely contractual in nature and did not qualify as a maritime matter. It therefore held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit from the outset.
The apex court faulted both the trial court and the Court of Appeal for assuming jurisdiction over the matter and proceeding to determine it.
The ruling effectively ends the long-running legal battle, delivering a major victory to General Hydrocarbons Limited against the bank.
International
South Africa Anti-Immigration Peaceful Protests To Continue Weekly Till Demands Are Met
A senior reporter, Channel, Africa, Nhlanhla Mahlangu, reported that the anti-immigration protests held across several South African cities remained largely peaceful despite isolated incidents of violence and attempted looting.
The organisers of South Africa anti-immigrant protest have announced that come next week, from Thursday, every Thursday, they will be taking to the streets until the government heeds to their call and ensure that all undocumented nationals leave the country.
A senior reporter, Channel, Africa, Nhlanhla Mahlangu, reported that the anti-immigration protests held across several South African cities remained largely peaceful despite isolated incidents of violence and attempted looting.
She also revealed that organisers intend to continue with weekly demonstrations from next Thursday until their demands are met.
Mahlangu further reported that an inter-ministerial committee comprising ministers within South Africa’s security cluster commended the largely peaceful conduct of the protests while condemning isolated incidents of violence reported across the country.
International
Cut Petrol Prices Now, Trump orders Retailers
Trump warned that his administration would not tolerate price gouging, describing the practice as illegal and cautioning retailers that those who ignore the call to lower prices could face “big problems
United States President Donald Trump has directed gasoline retailers across the country to reduce pump prices without delay.
Trump issued the directive in a post on his Truth Social platform, accusing fuel retailers of keeping prices unnecessarily high despite crude oil trading at about $68 per barrel.
“Gasoline retailers must get their prices down immediately”, the president declared, urging companies to “do what they know is right” by passing lower costs on to consumers.”
He argued that declining global crude oil prices should translate into immediate relief for American motorists.
Trump warned that his administration would not tolerate price gouging, describing the practice as illegal and cautioning retailers that those who ignore the call to lower prices could face “big problems.”
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